Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Pierre (1.2%) than in 93% of U.S. towns
Commuters spend 13 minutes getting to work on average; the South Dakota average is 18, the U.S. 26. Pierre grades B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. About two in three stay in Pierre for work; outside it, Fort Pierre is the main destination (6%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Pierre stands out on work
Most jobs in Pierre go to people who live here
Of the 9,199 jobs based in Pierre, 47% are held by Pierre residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Pierre are quick
The average trip to work takes 13 minutes, against 18 across South Dakota. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical South Dakota worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Pierre workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 10% across South Dakota. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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.
Inside Pierre’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pierre is better than 60% of U.S. towns, #14 of 35 in South Dakota. Unemployment holds Pierre’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 29% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pierre could be anywhere from B− to B+.
Who commutes out of Pierre, and who commutes in
On a workday 2,281 residents head out to work, 4,316 work right here, and 4,883 people come in from elsewhere.
About 16,000 people are in Pierre on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.39 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.
Time on the road from Pierre: about 13 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pierre workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,670 commuters (the 4% 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.
Out of Pierre to work: where people go
Where Pierre clocks in
6% of workers
1% 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 Pierre: 9,199 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pierre, 2013 → 2023: 9,388 → 9,199. 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 Pierre’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Pierre to work
About 22% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Pierre
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pierre is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #8 of 35 in South Dakota. Both inputs place Pierre near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,963 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). 7.2% of Pierre households have no vehicle (South Dakota 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Pierre’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 10,000 to 19,000, Pierre ranks 1,187th of 2,227 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | Harrisburg SD | 10,405 | $109K | 0.5% | 1.0% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 140 | Brandon SD | 11,306 | $111K | 1.4% | 1.2% | 17% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,185 | Fountain Inn SC | 14,722 | $74K | 7.7% | 4.7% | 5% | B |
| 1,186 | Garden City ID | 13,047 | $70K | 12.0% | 3.4% | 8% | B |
| 1,187 | Pierre SD | 13,848 | $78K | 10.1% | 1.2% | 65% | B |
| 1,188 | Sweden NY | 14,099 | $76K | 15.6% | 2.7% | 14% | B |
| 1,189 | Lovejoy GA | 12,929 | $72K | 9.2% | 4.3% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,463 | Mitchell SD | 15,756 | $59K | 12.5% | 1.0% | 60% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,227 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Pierre, the top three, the last and three more from South Dakota.
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 Pierre: questions
What is the median household income in Pierre?
$77,672 (±$7,218) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pierre?
10.1%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pierre?
13 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pierre work?
65% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Pierre (6%, 3 mi), Sioux Falls (6%, 188 mi), Rapid City (1%, 145 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pierre walkable?
Pierre is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pierre without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pierre, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pierre
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.