Jefferson Township’s household incomes are higher than in 98% of U.S. towns
Jefferson Township grades A for jobs and income and B for walkability. The poverty rate is 2.0%, against 11.9% across South Dakota. Hardly any work in Jefferson Township; the top destination outside it is North Sioux City (21%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Jefferson Township: the gist
Jefferson Township is a place people come home to
There are 104 jobs based in Jefferson Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Jefferson Township has about 870 people in it, 28% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Jefferson Township’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 21 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 439 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Income, poverty and work: Jefferson Township’s grade explained
On income, poverty and job access, Jefferson Township is better than 93% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Jefferson Township’s grade up ($196,442, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 47% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
Unemployment (3.6%) is left out: Jefferson Township’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Jefferson Township could be anywhere from A− to A.
Jefferson Township quiets down on a workday
On a workday 435 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 100 people come in from elsewhere.
About 870 people are in Jefferson Township on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer than live here.
0.24 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.
Jefferson Township’s commute takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jefferson Township workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 543 commuters (the 11% 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.
Where the trip to work from Jefferson Township ends
Where Jefferson Township clocks in
20% 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.
Jefferson Township works in goods: 62% of its jobs
104 jobs are based in Jefferson Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jefferson Township, 2013 → 2023: 115 → 104. 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 Jefferson Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Jefferson Township, by distance
About 21% 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.
Getting around Jefferson Township: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Jefferson Township is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Jefferson Township 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 608 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 Jefferson Township households have no vehicle (South Dakota 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Jefferson Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,312 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600, Jefferson Township comes 149th on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 122 | Wall Lake Township SD | 1,210 | $129K | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 147 | Montrose WI | 1,024 | $102K | 1.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A |
| 148 | Oxford Township MN | 1,019 | $119K | 2.9% | 6.1% | 1% | A |
| 149 | Jefferson Township SD | 1,207 | $196K | 2.0% | 3.6% | 1% | A |
| 150 | Arbury Hills IL | 1,519 | $99K | 4.1% | 2.5% | 1% | A |
| 151 | Eden WI | 1,062 | $110K | 1.6% | 0.3% | 2% | A |
| 152 | Crooks SD | 1,415 | $99K | 0.5% | 1.4% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 302 | Baltic SD | 1,344 | $108K | 1.2% | 2.7% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | 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 Jefferson Township, the top three, the last and three more from South Dakota.
Around Jefferson Township: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Big Sioux Township (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Jefferson Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Township | – | A | B | 21 min | $196,442 |
| Big Sioux Township | 9% | A | B− | 12 min | $128,005 |
| Civil Bend Township | under 2% | — | — | 11 min | — |
| Elk Point Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Civil Bend Township and Elk Point Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Jefferson 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 Jefferson Township: questions
What is the median household income in Jefferson Township?
$196,442 (±$73,541) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jefferson Township?
2.0%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jefferson Township?
21 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jefferson Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are North Sioux City (21%, 4 mi), Sioux City (20%, 10 mi), Sioux Falls (10%, 67 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Jefferson Township walkable?
Jefferson Township is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jefferson 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 Jefferson Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Jefferson 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. 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.