Wasta Rest Stop Tipi-Eastbound · Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0For about half of its working residents, Wasta Township is a commute to Rapid City
2 jobs are based in Wasta Township for 6 working residents. Home is the office for 50% of workers, where South Dakota as a whole has 10%. Hardly any work in Wasta Township itself; outside it, Rapid City draws the most (50%, 40 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who leaves Wasta Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 6 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 2 people come in from elsewhere.
About 33 people are in Wasta Township on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
0.33 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.
Out of Wasta Township to work: where people go
Where Wasta Township clocks in
50% of workers
33% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wasta Township, 2013 → 2023: 1 → 2. 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 Wasta Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Wasta Township
of Wasta Township workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4 commuters (the 50% 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 Wasta Township goes to work
About 17% 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.
Wasta Township and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wasta Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wasta Township | – | — | — | — | — |
| Crooked Creek Township | under 17% | — | — | — | — |
| Shyne Township | under 17% | — | — | — | — |
| Owanka Township | under 17% | — | — | — | — |
| Lake Flat Township | under 17% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Crooked Creek Township, Shyne Township, Owanka Township and Lake Flat Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wasta 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 Wasta Township: questions
What is the poverty rate in Wasta Township?
0.0%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Wasta Township work?
0% work in town.
Can you get around Wasta 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 Wasta Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wasta 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.