Photo: BrianHagan · CC BY-SA 4.0Sioux Falls draws more than half of Colton’s working residents
Only 1% stay in Colton for work; outside it, Sioux Falls is the main destination (51%, 20 miles). The trip to work takes 26 minutes on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. Employers in Colton report 68 jobs, against 379 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Colton stands out on work
More than half of Colton works in Sioux Falls
193 working residents, 51%, have their main job in Sioux Falls, 20 miles away. That’s 51 times as many as work in Colton itself. The commute map ↓
Colton is a place people come home to
There are 68 jobs based in Colton, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Colton has about 380 people in it, 45% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Colton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 26 minutes each way, against 18 across South Dakota. Over a year that’s about 199 hours of commuting, 61 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 379 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Colton goes to work
Where Colton clocks in
4% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Colton
On a workday 374 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 63 people come in from elsewhere.
About 380 people are in Colton on a workday afternoon, 45% fewer than live here.
0.18 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
About 26 minutes each way, longer than most of South Dakota
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Colton workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 370 commuters (the 8% 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.
What Colton’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Colton, 2013 → 2023: 155 → 68. 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 Colton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Colton commutes less than 19 miles
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.
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 Colton: questions
What is the median household income in Colton?
$83,750 (±$28,090) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Colton?
14.3%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Colton?
26 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Colton work?
1% work in town.
Can you get around Colton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Colton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Colton
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.