How Lake City works: jobs, income and commuting
Hardly any work in Lake City; the top destination outside it is Britton (24%, 17 miles). 0% of workers work from home, against 10% across South Dakota. Commuters spend 28 minutes getting to work on average; South Dakota averages 18, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Lake City on a workday afternoon
On a workday 17 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 0 people come in from elsewhere.
About 27 people are in Lake City on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.
0.00 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 2024, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Lake City: the destinations
Where Lake City clocks in
Lines 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.
About 28 minutes to work from Lake City
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lake City workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 25 commuters (the 0% 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 in the region Lake City works
About 29% 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 2024.
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 2024, 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 Lake City: questions
What is the median household income in Lake City?
$41,563 (±$6,623) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lake City?
0.0%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lake City?
28 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lake City work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Britton (24%, 17 mi), Brookings (12%, 103 mi), Hankinson (6%, 35 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Lake City 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 Lake City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lake City
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.