Rapid City draws about three in four of Green Valley’s working residents
Hardly any work in Green Valley itself; outside it, Rapid City draws the most (74%, 6 miles). For jobs and income Green Valley is better than 74% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is near the bottom of U.S. towns (D−). Poverty touches 1.0% of residents; South Dakota has 11.9%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Green Valley: the gist
More than half of Green Valley works in Rapid City
434 working residents, 74%, have their main job in Rapid City, 5.7 miles away. That’s far more as work in Green Valley itself. The commute map ↓
Most Green Valley residents work close to home
81% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Green Valley’s working residents have a job less than 6 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 38 minutes, longer than the South Dakota average of 18. 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 589 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Jobs & income in Green Valley: the grade in detail
The poverty rate holds Green Valley’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 40% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (5.5%) is left out: Green Valley’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Green Valley could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Where people from Green Valley work
Where Green Valley clocks in
74% of workers
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.
Green Valley’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Getting to work from Green Valley takes about 38 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Green Valley workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 795 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.
A workday in Green Valley: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 589 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 42 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Green Valley on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
0.07 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.
In Green Valley, 50% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
42 jobs are based in Green Valley.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Green Valley, 2013 → 2023: 20 → 42. 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 Green Valley’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Green Valley is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Green Valley is near the bottom of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Green Valley near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 879 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). 0.0% of Green Valley households have no vehicle (South Dakota 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Green Valley’s commuters take a bus or train.
Green Valley places 983rd of 6,161 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 84 | Delapre Township SD | 2,053 | $141K | 1.2% | 0.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 194 | Wall Lake Township SD | 1,210 | $129K | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 259 | Jefferson Township SD | 1,207 | $196K | 2.0% | 3.6% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 981 | Londonderry VT | 1,897 | $85K | 2.4% | 0.5% | 23% | B+ |
| 982 | Smoke Rise AL | 1,471 | $86K | 5.5% | 8.6% | <1% | B+ |
| 983 | Green Valley SD | 1,642 | $82K | 1.0% | 5.5% | 0% | B+ |
| 984 | Glyndon MN | 1,393 | $95K | 8.0% | 2.9% | 2% | B+ |
| 985 | New Wilmington PA | 2,084 | $74K | 8.5% | 1.1% | 15% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6,161 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 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 Green Valley, the top three, the last and three more from South Dakota.
How Green Valley compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Rapid Valley (1%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Green Valley workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Valley | – | B+ | D− | 38 min | $81,582 |
| Rapid Valley | 1% | B+ | B− | 20 min | $83,208 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Green Valley’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 Green Valley: questions
What is the median household income in Green Valley?
$81,582 (±$42,519) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Green Valley?
1.0%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Green Valley?
38 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 Green Valley work?
0% work in town.
Is Green Valley walkable?
Green Valley is near the bottom of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 3.3 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Green Valley 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 Green Valley, from the people who make the trip.
More of Green Valley
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.