Photo: Joel Bradshaw · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Milbank (1.4%) is lower than in 91% of U.S. towns
More than half work in Milbank itself; outside it, Sioux Falls draws the most (5%, 116 miles). For jobs and income Milbank is better than 35% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (A−). Household incomes here are lower than in 80% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Milbank: the figures worth knowing
Commutes from Milbank are quick
The average trip to work takes 9 minutes, against 18 across South Dakota. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical South Dakota worker. Time on the road ↓
Milbank gains people on a workday
About 4,200 people are in Milbank on a workday afternoon, 21% more than the 3,500 who live here: 1,500 come in to work and 800 head out. Day and night ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Milbank: the grade in detail
Unemployment holds Milbank’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 13% of U.S. towns).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Milbank could be anywhere from D to B.
Each way, about 9 minutes from Milbank
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 2.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Milbank workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,570 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.
How a workday changes Milbank
On a workday 796 residents head out to work, 840 work right here, and 1,521 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,200 people are in Milbank on a workday afternoon, 21% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.44 per resident).
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 Milbank: the destinations
Where Milbank clocks in
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.
What work there is in Milbank: 2,361 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Milbank, 2013 → 2023: 2,287 → 2,361. 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 Milbank’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Milbank works
About 19% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Milbank
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 7.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 4.3% across South Dakota, on an EPA index of 8.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,750 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). 4.8% of Milbank households have no vehicle (South Dakota 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Milbank’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Milbank ranks: 2,798th of 4,221 U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Split Rock Township SD | 3,086 | $148K | 0.6% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 420 | Dakota Dunes SD | 3,936 | $136K | 2.4% | 3.4% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 428 | Hartford SD | 3,635 | $100K | 5.5% | 0.9% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,796 | Prospect Township KS | 2,548 | $59K | 10.5% | 2.2% | 2% | C |
| 2,797 | Au Sable NY | 3,124 | $95K | 12.0% | 5.4% | 10% | C |
| 2,798 | Milbank SD | 3,512 | $56K | 13.2% | 1.4% | 51% | C |
| 2,799 | Campbell NY | 3,086 | $75K | 21.9% | 3.0% | 9% | C |
| 2,800 | Bethel NY | 4,296 | $67K | 12.8% | 3.0% | 9% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,221 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Milbank, the top three, the last and three more from South Dakota.
Milbank and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Alban Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Milbank workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milbank | – | C | A− | 9 min | $56,011 |
| Alban Township | 4% | — | — | 10 min | — |
| Grant Center Township | 1% | — | — | 19 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Alban Township and Grant Center Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Milbank’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 Milbank: questions
What is the median household income in Milbank?
$56,011 (±$13,441) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Milbank?
13.2%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Milbank?
9 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 Milbank work?
51% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sioux Falls (5%, 116 mi), Big Stone Township (4%, 7 mi), Alban Township (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Milbank walkable?
Milbank is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Milbank without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Milbank, from the people who make the trip.
More of Milbank
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.