Making a living in Eureka
About one in five work in Eureka; the top destination outside it is Aberdeen (15%, 60 miles). <1% of workers have no commute at all, where South Dakota as a whole has 10%. The trip to work takes 19 minutes on average (South Dakota 18, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Eureka in brief
Eureka’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Eureka is Aberdeen, 60 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (31) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
46% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Few Eureka workers work from home
Only 0% of workers work from home, against 10% across South Dakota. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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 213 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where in the region Eureka works
About 46% 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.
About 19 minutes each way, about the SD average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Eureka workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 312 commuters (the <1% 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.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 169 residents head out to work, 44 work right here, and 199 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 (1.14 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.
Out of Eureka to work: where people go
Where Eureka clocks in
11% 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 the 243 jobs in Eureka are
243 jobs are based in Eureka.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Eureka, 2013 → 2023: 282 → 243. 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 Eureka’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Eureka: questions
What is the median household income in Eureka?
$47,583 (±$9,390) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Eureka?
15.2%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Eureka?
19 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. <1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Eureka work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Aberdeen (15%, 60 mi), Leola (11%, 33 mi), Sioux Falls (5%, 210 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Eureka 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 Eureka, from the people who make the trip.
More of Eureka
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.