Hilton House · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0Work and commuting in White Lake
White Lake has 129 jobs; 157 of its residents have a job. Only 5% work in White Lake itself; outside it, Mitchell draws the most (16%, 34 miles). Working residents average 18 minutes each way, about the same as across South Dakota.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who commutes out of White Lake, and who commutes in
On a workday 149 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 121 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 (0.82 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.
Out of White Lake to work: where people go
Where White Lake 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.
The kinds of work in White Lake
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in White Lake, 2013 → 2023: 154 → 129. 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 White Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from White Lake: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of White Lake workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 189 commuters (the 7% 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 White Lake goes to work
About 34% 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 White Lake: questions
What is the median household income in White Lake?
$48,889 (±$12,275) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in White Lake?
12.6%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from White Lake?
18 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in White Lake work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Mitchell (16%, 34 mi), Plankinton (11%, 11 mi), Sioux Falls (10%, 100 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around White Lake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from White Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of White Lake
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.