Erwin draws 44 commuters a day, with 3.0 jobs for every working resident
45 jobs are based in Erwin, against 15 working residents. Only 7% work in Erwin itself; outside it, Arlington draws the most (13%, 17 miles). The average commute takes 39 minutes each way (South Dakota 18, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
In and out of Erwin on a workday
On a workday 14 residents head out to work and 1 work right here.
About 71 people are in Erwin on a workday afternoon, 73% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where the people who work in Erwin live
Where Erwin clocks in
13% of workers
7% 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.
Erwin makes things: 62% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Erwin, 2013 → 2023: 36 → 45. 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 Erwin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Erwin: about 39 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Erwin workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 28 commuters (the 10% 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 commute from Erwin, by distance
About 27% 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.
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 Erwin: questions
What is the median household income in Erwin?
$86,250 (±$7,972) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Erwin?
0.0%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Erwin?
39 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Erwin work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Arlington (13%, 17 mi), Thornton (7%, 497 mi), Lake Preston (7%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Erwin without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Erwin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Erwin
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.