Timber Lake draws 413 commuters a day, with 2.7 jobs for every working resident
About one in five work in Timber Lake itself; outside it, North Eagle Butte draws the most (24%, 29 miles). There are 449 jobs in Timber Lake for 165 working residents. Working residents average 30 minutes each way, next to 18 for South Dakota and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of Timber Lake
On a workday 129 residents head out to work and 36 work right here.
About 830 people are in Timber Lake on a workday afternoon, 52% more 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.
The towns that send workers to Timber Lake
Where Timber Lake clocks in
13% 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.
Services make up most of the work in Timber Lake
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Timber Lake, 2013 → 2023: 537 → 449. 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 Timber Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Timber Lake: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Timber Lake workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 263 commuters (the 9% 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 Timber Lake 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.
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 Timber Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Timber Lake?
$60,694 (±$8,459) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Timber Lake?
15.8%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Timber Lake?
30 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Timber Lake work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are North Eagle Butte (24%, 29 mi), Eagle Butte (13%, 31 mi), Isabel (6%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Timber Lake without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Timber Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Timber Lake
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.