Photo: Lars Plougmann from United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Making a living in Selby
A typical one-way commute from Selby lasts 31 minutes (South Dakota 18, U.S. 26). About one in five work in Selby; the top destination outside it is Mobridge (15%, 20 miles). Employers in Selby report 295 jobs, and 222 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Selby and work: the main findings
Selby and Mobridge trade workers both ways
Mobridge is the top workplace for Selby residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Selby come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Selby workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 18 across South Dakota. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 100 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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; with 222 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The towns that employ Selby’s residents
Where Selby clocks in
15% 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.
About 31 minutes each way, longer than most of South Dakota
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Selby workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 258 commuters (the 7% 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.
How far it is to work from Selby
About 32% 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.
Who commutes out of Selby, and who commutes in
On a workday 178 residents head out to work, 44 work right here, and 251 people come in from elsewhere.
About 670 people are in Selby on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.33 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.
Jobs in Selby: what the 295 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Selby, 2013 → 2023: 265 → 295. 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 Selby’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Selby: questions
What is the median household income in Selby?
$49,205 (±$14,959) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Selby?
8.3%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Selby?
31 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Selby work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mobridge (15%, 20 mi), Sioux Falls (6%, 212 mi), Aberdeen (5%, 76 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Selby without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Selby, from the people who make the trip.
More of Selby
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.