Peter and Minnie Monfore House · Photo: Jake DeGroot · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Springfield earn less than those in 80% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Springfield are C− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Below the poverty line: 7.0% of residents (South Dakota 11.9%). About one in seven work in Springfield; the top destination outside it is Yankton (12%, 26 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Springfield at work: what stands out
Springfield’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Springfield is Yankton, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (60) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
35% 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 518 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The figures behind Springfield’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Springfield is better than 22% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Springfield’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 3% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (5.9%) is left out: Springfield’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Springfield could be anywhere from D to C+.
How many miles Springfield commutes
About 35% 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 leaves Springfield for work, and who comes in
On a workday 442 residents head out to work, 76 work right here, and 256 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Springfield on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.64 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Springfield’s residents
Where Springfield clocks in
12% of workers
7% 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.
Jobs in Springfield: what the 332 are
332 jobs are based in Springfield.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Springfield, 2013 → 2023: 310 → 332. 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 Springfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 22 minutes from Springfield
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Springfield workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 314 commuters (the 8% 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.
Most trips from Springfield start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Springfield is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Springfield 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 343 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). 8.9% of Springfield households have no vehicle (South Dakota 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Springfield’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Springfield ranks: 4,135th of 5,921 U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 81 | Delapre Township SD | 2,053 | $141K | 1.2% | 0.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 117 | Springdale Township SD | 2,229 | $151K | 1.3% | 0.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 268 | Mapleton Township SD | 2,063 | $111K | 2.4% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,133 | Litchfield MI | 1,394 | $53K | 11.4% | 4.8% | 16% | C− |
| 4,134 | Miller SD | 1,313 | $58K | 7.6% | 0.0% | 35% | C− |
| 4,135 | Springfield SD | 1,926 | $56K | 7.0% | 5.9% | 15% | C− |
| 4,136 | Lyndon WI | 1,493 | $62K | 14.9% | 6.7% | 2% | C− |
| 4,137 | Hooverson Heights WV | 2,090 | $61K | 13.8% | 8.4% | 2% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,921 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Springfield, 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 Springfield: questions
What is the median household income in Springfield?
$55,714 (±$11,893) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Springfield?
7.0%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Springfield?
22 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Springfield work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Yankton (12%, 26 mi), Sioux Falls (10%, 75 mi), Avon (7%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Springfield walkable?
Springfield is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Springfield without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Springfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Springfield
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.