With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Ward Township works elsewhere
There are 4 jobs in Ward Township; 23 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Ward Township itself; outside it, Brookings draws the most (17%, 18 miles). Working from home is the commute for 100% of workers; South Dakota has 10%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Ward Township
On a workday 23 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 4 people come in from elsewhere.
About 48 people are in Ward Township on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer 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 places Ward Township commutes to
Where Ward Township 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.
A place that makes things: 75% of Ward Township’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ward Township, 2013 → 2023: 3 → 4. 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 Ward Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Ward Township
of Ward Township workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far Ward Township’s workers travel
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.
Ward Township and its neighbors
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ward Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ward Township | – | — | — | — | — |
| Spring Creek Township | under 5% | — | — | 8 min | — |
| Union Township | under 5% | — | — | — | — |
| Elkton Township | under 5% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Spring Creek Township, Union Township and Elkton Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ward 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 Ward Township: questions
What is the poverty rate in Ward Township?
0.0%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Ward Township work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Brookings (17%, 18 mi), Flandreau (13%, 9 mi), Sioux Falls (13%, 44 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ward Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ward 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.