Photo: Idawriter · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Eagle Butte earn less than those in 92% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 31.8% of residents (South Dakota 11.9%). For jobs and income Eagle Butte is near the bottom of U.S. towns (D−); for walkability it is more walkable than 15% of U.S. towns (D). A typical one-way commute from Eagle Butte lasts 10 minutes (South Dakota 18, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Eagle Butte
40% of Eagle Butte works in North Eagle Butte
116 working residents, 40%, have their main job in North Eagle Butte, 1.8 miles away across the town line. That’s twice as many as work in Eagle Butte itself. The commute map ↓
Most Eagle Butte residents work close to home
60% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Eagle Butte than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Eagle Butte fell from 724 in 2013 to 439 in 2023, −39%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
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 287 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Eagle Butte
On income, poverty and job access, Eagle Butte is near the bottom of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Eagle Butte’s grade.
Unemployment (24.7%) is left out: Eagle Butte’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Eagle Butte stays D−.
The towns that send workers to Eagle Butte
Where Eagle Butte clocks in
2% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Eagle Butte
About 18% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Jobs in Eagle Butte: what the 439 are
439 jobs are based in Eagle Butte.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Eagle Butte, 2013 → 2023: 724 → 439. 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 Eagle Butte’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Eagle Butte on a workday
On a workday 230 residents head out to work, 57 work right here, and 382 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Eagle Butte on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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 10 minutes to work from Eagle Butte
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Eagle Butte workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 446 commuters (the 4% 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.
Most trips from Eagle Butte start in a car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 466 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.8% of Eagle Butte households have no vehicle (South Dakota 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Eagle Butte’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700, and where Eagle Butte sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 137 | Wall Lake Township SD | 1,210 | $129K | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 174 | Jefferson Township SD | 1,207 | $196K | 2.0% | 3.6% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 178 | Crooks SD | 1,415 | $99K | 0.5% | 1.4% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,804 | Hollis OK | 1,673 | $39K | 29.2% | 10.0% | 40% | D− |
| 4,805 | Port Orford OR | 1,101 | $37K | 24.1% | 7.3% | 19% | D− |
| 4,806 | Eagle Butte SD | 1,269 | $46K | 31.8% | 24.7% | 20% | D− |
| 4,807 | Menard TX | 1,356 | $41K | 26.7% | 9.2% | 26% | D− |
| 4,808 | Tonasket WA | 1,133 | $38K | 26.7% | 6.1% | 26% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Eagle Butte, the top three, the last and three more from South Dakota.
40% of Eagle Butte works in a bordering town
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Eagle Butte workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle Butte | – | D− | D | 10 min | $45,741 |
| North Eagle Butte | 40% | D− | C− | 12 min | $34,358 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to North Eagle Butte. Darker towns draw more of Eagle Butte’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Eagle Butte: questions
What is the median household income in Eagle Butte?
$45,741 (±$14,035) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Eagle Butte?
31.8%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Eagle Butte?
10 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Eagle Butte work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are North Eagle Butte (40%, 2 mi), Timber Lake (8%, 31 mi), Faith (2%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Eagle Butte walkable?
Eagle Butte is more walkable than 15% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Eagle Butte without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Eagle Butte, from the people who make the trip.
More of Eagle Butte
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.