Jobs, income and commuting in Wakpala, SD
0% of workers work from home, next to 10% for South Dakota as a whole. Only 2% work in Wakpala itself; outside it, McLaughlin draws the most (15%, 17 miles). Employers in Wakpala report 44 jobs, and 53 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of Wakpala
On a workday 52 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 43 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.83 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.
Where the trip to work from Wakpala ends
Where Wakpala clocks in
15% of workers
6% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Wakpala
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wakpala, 2013 → 2023: 136 → 44. 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 Wakpala’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Wakpala
of Wakpala workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 19 commuters (the 0% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Wakpala
About 26% 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 Wakpala: questions
What is the median household income in Wakpala?
$20,938 (±$7,000) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wakpala?
75.0%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Wakpala work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are McLaughlin (15%, 17 mi), Mobridge (6%, 10 mi), McIntosh (4%, 43 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Wakpala without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wakpala, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wakpala
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.