Photo: Jared Winkler · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs and earnings in White River, and the trip to work
About one in four stay in White River for work; outside it, Rapid City is the main destination (10%, 128 miles). 2% of workers work from home (South Dakota 10%). At 18 minutes each way, commutes from White River run about the South Dakota average.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of White River
On a workday 98 residents head out to work, 37 work right here, and 175 people come in from elsewhere.
About 670 people are in White River on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
The daily trip into White River
Where White River clocks in
10% of workers
10% 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.
Most jobs in White River are in services
212 jobs are based in White River.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in White River, 2013 → 2023: 251 → 212. 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 River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long White River spends getting to work: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of White River workers work from home, vs 10% across South Dakota. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 242 commuters (the 2% 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.
Where in the region White River works
About 27% 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 River: questions
What is the median household income in White River?
$82,692 (±$65,360) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $75,081 across South Dakota and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in White River?
35.7%, against 11.9% across South Dakota and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from White River?
18 minutes each way on average, against 18 across South Dakota and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in White River work?
27% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rapid City (10%, 128 mi), Mission (10%, 18 mi), Two Strike (10%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around White River without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from White River, from the people who make the trip.
More of White River
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.