Sterling Methodist Church · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Brookings draws about half of Sterling Township’s working residents
Hardly any work in Sterling Township itself; outside it, Brookings draws the most (46%, 7 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 16 minutes, next to 18 for South Dakota and 26 for the U.S. 9 jobs are based in Sterling Township, and 218 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Sterling Township: the figures worth knowing
Sterling Township is a place people come home to
There are 9 jobs based in Sterling Township, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Sterling Township has about 220 people in it, 49% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Nearly half of Sterling Township works in Brookings
101 working residents, 46%, have their main job in Brookings, 7.2 miles away. That’s far more as work in Sterling Township itself. The commute map ↓
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 218 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How a workday changes Sterling Township
On a workday 217 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 8 people come in from elsewhere.
About 220 people are in Sterling Township on a workday afternoon, 49% fewer than live here.
0.04 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.
Where Sterling Township goes to work
Where Sterling 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.
Making and building: 56% of jobs based in Sterling Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sterling Township, 2013 → 2023: 21 → 9. 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 Sterling Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Sterling Township’s commute takes about 16 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sterling Township workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 206 commuters (the 5% 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 Sterling Township to work
About 20% 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.
Sterling Township and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sterling Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sterling Township | – | — | — | 16 min | $144,318 |
| Bruce | under 1% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Brookings Township | under 1% | — | — | 14 min | — |
| Afton Township | under 1% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Oakwood Township | under 1% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Eureka Township | under 1% | — | — | 38 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Bruce, Brookings Township, Afton Township, Oakwood Township and Eureka Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sterling 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 Sterling Township: questions
What is the median household income in Sterling Township?
$144,318 (±$7,991) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sterling Township?
0.0%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sterling Township?
16 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sterling Township work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brookings (46%, 7 mi), Sioux Falls (11%, 60 mi), Volga (9%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Sterling 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 Sterling Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sterling 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.