Photo: Runner1928 · CC BY-SA 4.0Where Oacoma earns its living
Only 7% work in Oacoma itself; outside it, Presho draws the most (10%, 35 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 15 minutes, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. Oacoma has 213 jobs, and 143 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of Oacoma
On a workday 133 residents head out to work, 10 work right here, and 203 people come in from elsewhere.
About 460 people are in Oacoma on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.49 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 Oacoma: the destinations
Where Oacoma clocks in
10% 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 Oacoma’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oacoma, 2013 → 2023: 335 → 213. 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 Oacoma’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Oacoma takes about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oacoma workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 230 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.
Oacoma’s commute, mile by mile
About 40% 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.
Oacoma and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Chamberlain (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oacoma workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oacoma | – | — | — | 15 min | $73,333 |
| Oacoma Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| Chamberlain Township | under 2% | — | — | 11 min | — |
| Chamberlain | 6% | C+ | A− | 14 min | $76,761 |
Same-state neighbors only. Oacoma Township and Chamberlain Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Oacoma’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 Oacoma: questions
What is the median household income in Oacoma?
$73,333 (±$25,500) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oacoma?
5.5%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oacoma?
15 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 Oacoma work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Presho (10%, 35 mi), Sioux Falls (9%, 133 mi), Chamberlain (6%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Oacoma without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oacoma, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oacoma
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.