Most of West Brule commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
For 0% of workers, the job is at home, against 10% across South Dakota. 21 jobs are based in West Brule for 99 working residents. Only 4% work in West Brule itself; outside it, Lower Brule draws the most (21%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
West Brule on a workday afternoon
On a workday 95 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 17 people come in from elsewhere.
About 390 people are in West Brule on a workday afternoon, 17% 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.
Where West Brule’s working residents head each day
Where West Brule 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.
What West Brule’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Brule, 2013 → 2023: 15 → 21. 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 West Brule’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from West Brule: about 9 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 2.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Brule workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 113 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.
West Brule’s commute, mile by mile
About 24% 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 West Brule: questions
What is the median household income in West Brule?
$37,917 (±$8,141) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Brule?
50.3%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Brule?
9 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Brule work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lower Brule (21%, 3 mi), Fort Thompson (5%, 12 mi), Chamberlain (4%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around West Brule without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Brule, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Brule
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.