Spearfish Post Office (Old) · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Mountain Plains has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The average commute takes 16 minutes each way, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. Employers in Mountain Plains report 29 jobs; 159 of its residents have a job. 6% of workers have no commute at all (South Dakota 10%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How a workday changes Mountain Plains
On a workday 158 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 28 people come in from elsewhere.
About 220 people are in Mountain Plains on a workday afternoon, 37% 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.
44% of working residents work in Spearfish
Where Mountain Plains clocks in
44% of workers
12% 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.
In Mountain Plains, 48% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mountain Plains, 2013 → 2023: 19 → 29. 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 Mountain Plains’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Mountain Plains: about 16 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mountain Plains workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 175 commuters (the 6% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Mountain Plains
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.
Bordering towns draw 44% of Mountain Plains’ workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mountain Plains workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain Plains | – | — | — | 16 min | $248,558 |
| Spearfish | 44% | C+ | A | 16 min | $65,688 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Spearfish. Darker towns draw more of Mountain Plains’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 Mountain Plains: questions
What is the median household income in Mountain Plains?
$248,558 (±$207,827) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mountain Plains?
0.0%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mountain Plains?
16 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mountain Plains work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Spearfish (44%, 3 mi), Rapid City (12%, 42 mi), Deadwood (5%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Mountain Plains 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 Mountain Plains, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mountain Plains
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.