Preston Township has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
There are 11 jobs in Preston Township; 73 of its residents have a job. Hardly any stay in Preston Township for work; outside it, Brookings is the main destination (32%, 16 miles). Working residents average 18 minutes each way, about the same as across South Dakota.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
How a workday changes Preston Township
On a workday 73 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 11 people come in from elsewhere.
About 110 people are in Preston Township 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.
Where Preston Township goes to work
Where Preston Township clocks in
Lines 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.
Goods, not services: 64% of the jobs in Preston Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Preston Township, 2013 → 2023: 16 → 11. 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 Preston Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Preston Township’s commute takes about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Preston Township workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 28 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.
The distance from Preston Township to work
About 31% 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.
Next door to Preston Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Preston Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preston Township | – | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Estelline Township | under 2% | — | — | 39 min | — |
| Laketon Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Eureka Township | under 2% | — | — | 38 min | — |
| Oakwood Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Estelline Township, Laketon Township, Eureka Township and Oakwood Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Preston Township’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 Preston Township: questions
What is the poverty rate in Preston Township?
11.7%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Preston Township?
18 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 Preston Township work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brookings (32%, 16 mi), Sioux Falls (15%, 68 mi), Volga (11%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Preston Township 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 Preston Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Preston Township
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.