Lake Preston at work: jobs, income and the commute
136 jobs are based in Lake Preston, against 236 working residents. Only 3% stay in Lake Preston for work; outside it, Brookings is the main destination (15%, 29 miles). Commuters spend 23 minutes getting to work on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Lake Preston at work: what stands out
Lake Preston’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Lake Preston is Brookings, 29 miles away as the crow flies. 15% of working residents (35) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Lake Preston workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 23 minutes each way, against 18 across South Dakota. Over a year that’s about 176 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. 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 236 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How far it is to work from Lake Preston
About 26% 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.
About 23 minutes each way for Lake Preston’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lake Preston workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 224 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.
Who commutes out of Lake Preston, and who commutes in
On a workday 228 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 128 people come in from elsewhere.
About 510 people are in Lake Preston on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.58 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.
The towns that employ Lake Preston’s residents
Where Lake Preston clocks in
9% 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.
What Lake Preston’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lake Preston, 2013 → 2023: 185 → 136. 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 Preston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Preston: questions
What is the median household income in Lake Preston?
$52,396 (±$16,187) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lake Preston?
17.0%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lake Preston?
23 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 Lake Preston work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brookings (15%, 29 mi), Sioux Falls (11%, 65 mi), Arlington (9%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Lake Preston without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lake Preston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lake Preston
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.