Photo: No machine-readable author provided. The Moose assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 3.0Sioux Falls draws more than half of Valley Springs’ working residents
51 jobs are based in Valley Springs; 403 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Valley Springs itself; outside it, Sioux Falls draws the most (56%, 14 miles). The average commute takes 21 minutes each way, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Valley Springs stands out on work
More than half of Valley Springs works in Sioux Falls
226 working residents, 56%, have their main job in Sioux Falls, 14 miles away. That’s 56 times as many as work in Valley Springs itself. The commute map ↓
Valley Springs is a place people come home to
There are 51 jobs based in Valley Springs, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Valley Springs has about 540 people in it, 40% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 403 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Valley Springs goes to work
Where Valley Springs 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.
Valley Springs on a workday afternoon
On a workday 400 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 48 people come in from elsewhere.
About 540 people are in Valley Springs on a workday afternoon, 40% fewer than live here.
0.13 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 2024, primary jobs.
The kinds of work in Valley Springs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Valley Springs, 2014 → 2024: 31 → 51. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Valley Springs’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Valley Springs takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Valley Springs workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 599 commuters (the 6% 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 Valley Springs’ workers travel
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Valley Springs and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Valley Springs Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Valley Springs workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley Springs | – | — | — | 21 min | $107,222 |
| Valley Springs Township | 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Red Rock Township | under 1% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Valley Springs Township and Red Rock Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Valley Springs’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 2024, 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 Valley Springs: questions
What is the median household income in Valley Springs?
$107,222 (±$32,146) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Valley Springs?
8.8%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Valley Springs?
21 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Valley Springs work?
1% work in town.
Can you get around Valley Springs without a car?
1% 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 Valley Springs, from the people who make the trip.
More of Valley Springs
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.