How Garfield Township works: jobs, income and commuting
29% of workers work from home, where South Dakota as a whole has 10%. Only 1% stay in Garfield Township for work; outside it, Lake Norden is the main destination (14%, 10 miles). The trip to work takes 13 minutes on average, where South Dakota has 18 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Garfield Township fills up on a workday
On a workday 73 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 111 people come in from elsewhere.
About 180 people are in Garfield Township on a workday afternoon, 27% 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.
Where the people who work in Garfield Township live
Where Garfield Township clocks in
14% of workers
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.
Factories, building and farms: 93% of the jobs in Garfield Township
112 jobs are based in Garfield Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Garfield Township, 2013 → 2023: 58 → 112. 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 Garfield Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 13 minutes each way for Garfield Township’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Garfield Township workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 58 commuters (the 29% 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.
Half of Garfield Township commutes less than 16 miles
About 23% 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.
Around Garfield Township: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Cleveland Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Garfield Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garfield Township | – | — | — | 13 min | $156,818 |
| Washington Township | under 3% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Dixon Township | under 3% | — | — | — | — |
| Cleveland Township | 3% | — | — | 14 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Washington Township, Dixon Township and Cleveland Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Garfield Township’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 Garfield Township: questions
What is the median household income in Garfield Township?
$156,818 (±$139,263) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Garfield Township?
0.0%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Garfield Township?
13 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 29% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Garfield Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lake Norden (14%, 10 mi), Watertown (14%, 26 mi), Hayti (11%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Garfield Township 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 Garfield Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Garfield Township
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.