Fruitdale School · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.6 jobs for every working resident, most of Lake Township works elsewhere
32 jobs are based in Lake Township; 56 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Lake Township; the top destination outside it is Clark (18%, 14 miles). 0% of workers work from home, against 10% across South Dakota.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who leaves Lake Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 56 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 32 people come in from elsewhere.
About 160 people are in Lake Township on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Lake Township: the destinations
Where Lake Township clocks in
18% of workers
16% 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.
Making and building: 66% of jobs based in Lake Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lake Township, 2013 → 2023: 4 → 32. 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 Lake Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Lake Township
of Lake Township workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14 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.
How far it is to work from Lake Township
About 25% 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.
Next door to Lake Township
The biggest share goes to Willow Lake (9%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lake Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Township | – | — | — | — | $128,750 |
| Pleasant Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Willow Lake | 9% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Collins Township | under 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Hague Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Merton Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Pleasant Township, Willow Lake, Collins Township, Hague Township and Merton Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lake 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 Lake Township: questions
What is the median household income in Lake Township?
$128,750 (±$121,986) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lake Township?
0.0%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Lake Township work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Clark (18%, 14 mi), Watertown (16%, 30 mi), Willow Lake (9%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Lake 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 Lake Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lake 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.