Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0Rapid City has 1.5 jobs for every working resident: 24,291 people commute in to work
Jobs & income B−: better than 54% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #18 of 35 in South Dakota.
Walkability B+: more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns · #17 of 35 in South Dakota.
Household incomes here are lower than in 57% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 18 minutes each way (South Dakota 18, U.S. 26). About three in four work in Rapid City; the top destination outside it is Sioux Falls (4%, 325 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Rapid City
Most jobs in Rapid City go to people who live here
Of the 48,910 jobs based in Rapid City, 50% are held by Rapid City residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
Rapid City gains people on a workday
About 96,000 people are in Rapid City on a workday afternoon, 20% more than the 81,000 who live here: 24,000 come in to work and 8,400 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.
What’s behind Rapid City’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Rapid City is better than 54% of U.S. towns, #18 of 35 in South Dakota. Unemployment holds Rapid City’s grade up (2.6%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (12.5%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Rapid City could be anywhere from B− to B.
Rapid City fills up on a workday
On a workday 8,420 residents head out to work, 24,619 work right here, and 24,291 people come in from elsewhere.
About 96,000 people are in Rapid City on a workday afternoon, 20% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.48 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.
Where Rapid City goes to work
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Rapid City clocks in
2% of workers
1% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 48,910 jobs in Rapid City are
48,910 jobs are based in Rapid City. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Rapid City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rapid City, 2013 → 2023: 44,793 → 48,910. 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.
About 18 minutes each way, about the SD average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rapid City workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 34,769 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.
Half of Rapid City commutes less than 3 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Most trips from Rapid City start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rapid City is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #17 of 35 in South Dakota. Both inputs place Rapid City 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 38,618 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). 7.0% of Rapid City households have no vehicle (South Dakota 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Rapid City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Rapid City is 360th of 571 U.S. towns of 56,000 to 109,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Rapid City, the top three, the last and three more from South Dakota.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 358 | Margate FL | 60,070 | $62K | 12.1% | 4.1% | 5% | B− |
| 359 | Sarasota FL | 58,458 | $72K | 15.0% | 3.6% | 26% | B− |
| 360 | Rapid City SD | 80,589 | $71K | 12.5% | 2.6% | 75% | B− |
| 361 | Montebello CA | 60,693 | $80K | 12.1% | 7.1% | 7% | B− |
| 362 | Delray Beach FL | 69,809 | $82K | 13.0% | 5.8% | 17% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 571 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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.
Rapid City and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Box Elder (2%). Darker towns draw more of Rapid City’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rapid City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid City | – | B− | B+ | 18 min | $70,870 |
| Colonial Pine Hills | under 1% | B− | B | 21 min | $98,696 |
| Rapid Valley | 1% | B+ | B− | 20 min | $83,208 |
| Box Elder | 2% | B− | C+ | 20 min | $73,008 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Rapid City: questions
What is the median household income in Rapid City?
$70,870 (±$3,555) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rapid City?
12.5%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rapid City?
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 Rapid City work?
75% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sioux Falls (4%, 325 mi), Box Elder (2%, 7 mi), Spearfish (1%, 42 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Rapid City walkable?
Rapid City is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rapid City 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 Rapid City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rapid City
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.