Work, pay and getting to work in Colman
The average commute takes 30 minutes each way (South Dakota 18, U.S. 26). About one in ten work in Colman; the top destination outside it is Sioux Falls (27%, 31 miles). There are 343 jobs in Colman, against 281 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Colman apart
Colman’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Colman is Sioux Falls, 31 miles away as the crow flies. 27% of working residents (77) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Colman makes and builds things
71% of the jobs based in Colman are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Colman residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 32%. The jobs ↓
Colman workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 18 across South Dakota. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 92 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 281 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Miles to work from Colman
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Colman makes things: 71% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Colman, 2013 → 2023: 404 → 343. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Colman’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Colman, about 30 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Colman workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 385 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across South Dakota: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The workday shuffle in and out of Colman
On a workday 252 residents head out to work, 29 work right here, and 314 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.22 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Colman: the destinations
Where Colman clocks in
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Colman: questions
What is the median household income in Colman?
$76,146 (±$21,931) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Colman?
11.5%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Colman?
30 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Colman work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sioux Falls (27%, 31 mi), Brookings (11%, 22 mi), Madison (5%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Colman without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Colman, from the people who make the trip.
More of Colman
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.