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Buffalo County Commute Time Map & Patterns

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Commuting in Buffalo County, South Dakota: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.

You 9/24/26, 8:26 PM
How long is the round-trip commute in Buffalo County?
Map AI 9/24/26, 8:26 PM

Commute Time Burden in Buffalo County: Annual Hours and Cost

Commuters in Buffalo County spend about 17 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 69 hours, about 2.9 full days, spent commuting. That is 46% less time on the road than the South Dakota average of 15.3 minutes each way, a difference of 7.1 minutes.

Buffalo County holds about 0.2% of South Dakota's population but accounts for roughly 0.1% of its total commuting time.

Working from home just 2 days a week in Buffalo County would save about 28 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $856 at the same national wage assumption used above.

Area One-Way Commute Daily Round-Trip Yearly Time Spent Estimated Yearly Cost Local Road Traffic (VPD)
Buffalo County 8.3 min 16.6 min 69 hrs/yr $2,139 70
South Dakota 15.3 min 30.7 min 128 hrs/yr $3,961 353
United States 22.4 min 44.8 min 187 hrs/yr $5,790 1,355

The estimated yearly cost applies a single national rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area - treat it as a rough estimate, not a paycheck figure. Local road traffic counts, vehicles per day on non-highway roads, come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.

Commute Time Map: South Dakota Counties

Fastest commutes among counties in South Dakota
  1. Jones County (6.7 min)
  2. Bennett County (7.5 min)
  3. Jackson County (7.8 min)
Slowest commutes among counties in South Dakota
  1. Custer County (25.5 min)
  2. McCook County (25.4 min)
  3. Turner County (23.1 min)

Compare commute times among different counties

Buffalo County
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Average commute time

On average, it takes 8.3 minutes to get to work in Buffalo County. That's 63% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.

Faster than 92% of counties in South Dakota

The most common departure window is 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM, followed by 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 12.3% work from home.

How People Get to Work in Buffalo County

  • Car: 82.7%
  • Worked at Home: 12.3%
  • Walked: 3.3%
  • Other: 1.6%
  • Motorcycle: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Public Transportation: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Taxi: < 0.1% unusually low
  • Bicycle: < 0.1% unusually low

Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Buffalo County, versus 0.2% in South Dakota.

Public transit is essentially absent in Buffalo County, versus 0.5% in South Dakota.

Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Buffalo County, versus 0.1% in South Dakota.

Biking is essentially absent in Buffalo County, versus 0.3% in South Dakota.

Commute Mode Trends in Buffalo County, 2009-2024

This chart shows how workers in Buffalo County get to work, as a share of all workers aged 16 and over, across 16 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) releases from 2009 to 2024. Each release is a 5-year estimate: the 2024 figures cover surveys taken from 2020 to 2024. Because neighboring releases share most of their survey years, the lines move gradually, and a sudden change such as the rise of remote work in 2020 spreads across several releases. Hover over or tap a line to highlight it, and use the legend to show or hide a mode. Driving starts hidden so the smaller modes stay readable.

Share of workers aged 16 and over, by ACS 5-year release year. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Show commute mode data by year
Year Car Worked at Home Walked Other Public Transportation Taxi Motorcycle Bicycle
2009 73.4% 7.4% 18.3% 0.9% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2010 73.6% 6.8% 18.6% 1.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2011 77.4% 5.5% 17.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2012 76.4% 6.0% 16.8% 0.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2013 79.8% 7.2% 12.3% 0.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2014 81.3% 6.7% 11.4% 0.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2015 81.7% 9.0% 8.5% 0.8% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2016 81.7% 7.8% 9.3% 1.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2017 87.1% 5.3% 7.0% 0.5% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2018 85.9% 5.7% 7.1% 1.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2019 84.5% 4.5% 8.8% 2.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2020 84.3% 7.2% 7.4% 1.2% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2021 83.0% 8.7% 5.7% 2.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2022 82.0% 12.2% 3.4% 2.4% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2023 79.8% 12.9% 5.2% 2.1% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
2024 82.7% 12.3% 3.3% 1.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%

Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2017 at 87.1%. Overall it rose from 73.4% in 2009 to 82.7% in 2024, up 9.3 percentage points. It has risen in the latest release.

Working from home gained the most ground in Buffalo County: its share of workers rose from 7.4% in 2009 to 12.3% in 2024, up 4.9 percentage points. Most of that increase, 7.8 points, came in the releases after 2019, which include the pandemic years.

Walking lost the most ground, falling from 18.3% to 3.3% of workers (down 15.0 percentage points).

Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2021 release and has stayed ahead since.

Commute Start Times in Buffalo County

  • Night OwlThe latest start among South Dakota's 66 counties: half of commuters are still at home at 7:55 AM.
  • Earlier AlarmsThe 3rd-biggest shift to earlier mornings among South Dakota's 66 counties: the typical start is 21 minutes earlier than in 2009.

What Time Do People Leave for Work in Buffalo County?

The bars show when commuters in Buffalo County leave home for work, as a share of everyone who commutes (people who work from home are not counted), from the 2024 ACS 5-year estimates. The thin violet marks show South Dakota for comparison. Hover over or tap a row for the exact numbers.

12:00-4:59 AM
0.0%
5:00-5:29 AM
1.0%
5:30-5:59 AM
1.2%
6:00-6:29 AM
3.6%
6:30-6:59 AM
8.0%
7:00-7:29 AM
15.7%
7:30-7:59 AM
24.5%
8:00-8:29 AM
29.9%
8:30-8:59 AM
4.2%
9:00-9:59 AM
5.2%
10:00-10:59 AM
0.0%
11:00-11:59 AM
1.8%
12:00-3:59 PM
0.6%
4:00-11:59 PM
4.2%

Buffalo County South Dakota Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates

The busiest time to head out in Buffalo County is 8:00-8:29 AM, when 29.9% of commuters leave home, compared with 10.2% across South Dakota. Early starts are less common than in South Dakota: 2.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 12.2% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in South Dakota: 78.1% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 57.7% there. About 1 in 8 commuters (11.8%) leave at 9 AM or later, which usually points to shift work, flexible hours or part-time jobs.

When people leave matters as much as how far they go. Rush-hour traffic shrinks how much ground a 20-minute trip covers, so a trade area drawn as a simple circle often takes in neighborhoods that customers or staff would never drive from and misses others that are an easy trip. A drive-time zone, also called an isochrone, outlines every place within a set number of minutes of an address, which makes it the more honest way to size a store's catchment, a hiring area or the commute from a new home.

See it for yourself on the interactive map: click any spot in Buffalo County, pick a 5, 10, 15 or 30-minute drive and see the local demographics of the people who live within that exact drive time.

Is Buffalo County Waking Up Earlier? Typical Departure Time, 2009-2024

Each line follows the typical (median) departure time: the moment by which half of commuters have already left home. Higher on the chart means a later start. Setting Buffalo County next to South Dakota and the U.S. shows whether local mornings are drifting earlier or later than everyone else's. The figures span 16 ACS 5-year releases, so changes build up gradually rather than jumping from one year to the next.

Median time commuters leave home, by ACS 5-year release year. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Show typical departure times by year
Year Buffalo County South Dakota United States
2009 8:16 AM 7:40 AM 7:37 AM
2010 8:07 AM 7:40 AM 7:38 AM
2011 8:00 AM 7:40 AM 7:38 AM
2012 7:56 AM 7:39 AM 7:38 AM
2013 8:03 AM 7:39 AM 7:39 AM
2014 7:56 AM 7:39 AM 7:39 AM
2015 7:56 AM 7:39 AM 7:38 AM
2016 7:50 AM 7:38 AM 7:38 AM
2017 7:51 AM 7:38 AM 7:38 AM
2018 7:48 AM 7:37 AM 7:37 AM
2019 7:49 AM 7:37 AM 7:37 AM
2020 7:53 AM 7:37 AM 7:37 AM
2021 7:52 AM 7:37 AM 7:37 AM
2022 7:49 AM 7:36 AM 7:37 AM
2023 7:50 AM 7:37 AM 7:38 AM
2024 7:55 AM 7:35 AM 7:38 AM

In 2024, half of commuters in Buffalo County were on the road by 7:55 AM, 21 minutes earlier than in 2009 (8:16 AM). The shift is sharper than across South Dakota, where the typical start moved 5 minutes earlier. Commuters in Buffalo County now leave 17 minutes later than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Buffalo County has moved 6 minutes later.

How does Buffalo County's commute time compare?

Metric Buffalo County South Dakota US Average
Avg. Commute Time 8.3 min 15.3 min 22.4 min
Departure Window 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM
Secondary Departure Window 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM
Work From Home 12.3% 9.7% 15.0%
Walked 3.3% 3.1% 2.4%
Public Transit < 0.1% 0.5% 3.2%

The average commute time in Buffalo County is 8.3 minutes, shorter than the 15.3 minutes in South Dakota.

0.0% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.5% in South Dakota. 3.3% commute by walking, higher than the 3.1% in South Dakota.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Buffalo County, SD Commute Compared With Nearby Counties

Buffalo County, SD is the 4th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 1,808 residents against a local median of 3,140. Where Buffalo County, SD breaks from the counties next to it is one-way commute, sitting 26% below the local median of 11.2 min at 8.3 min. That is the better end of the local range on this measure.

The counties themselves spread 4.2 min on one-way commute, so Buffalo County, SD sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Buffalo County, SD has the 2nd lowest one-way commute of the 6 areas compared here.

Area Population One-way commute Work from home Typical departure
Buffalo County, SD 1,808 8.3 min #2/6 12.3% #4/6 7:55 AM #6/6
Brule County, SD 5,283 11.2 min 12.4% 7:46 AM
Hand County, SD 3,140 8.4 min 10.9% 7:44 AM
Hyde County, SD 1,191 8.2 min 20.8% 7:33 AM
Jerauld County, SD 1,772 11.5 min 19.8% 7:42 AM
Lyman County, SD 3,724 12.4 min 11.2% 7:45 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about commuting in Buffalo County, South Dakota.

Is living in Buffalo County, South Dakota good for avoiding long commute costs?

Commuters here spend an estimated 69 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $2,139 at a typical national wage. That's 46% less than the typical South Dakota commuter spends.

When is peak congestion during the morning commute in Buffalo County, South Dakota?

Traffic peaks between 08:00 AM – 08:29 AM in Buffalo County, South Dakota. Leaving before or after this window is the single easiest way to avoid the heaviest local congestion, though 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM also sees a secondary bump.

Is public transportation a realistic commute option in Buffalo County, South Dakota?

Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.0% of commuters use it versus 0.5% in South Dakota, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.

How do commute times compare across counties in South Dakota?

Among counties in South Dakota, the shortest average commutes are in Jones County (6.7 min), Bennett County (7.5 min), Jackson County (7.8 min). The longest are in Custer County (25.5 min), McCook County (25.4 min), Turner County (23.1 min).