Commuting in Butte County, South Dakota: how long it takes, when people leave home and how they get to work. Ask Map AI about any address.
You9/24/26, 1:05 PM
How many minutes is the average drive to work in Butte County?
Map AI9/24/26, 1:05 PM
Commute Time Burden in Butte County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Butte County spend about 37 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 153 hours, about 6.4 full days, spent commuting. That is 20% more time on the road than the South Dakota average of 15.3 minutes each way, a difference of 3.1 minutes.
Butte County holds about 1.2% of South Dakota's population but accounts for roughly 1.4% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Butte County would save about 61 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,900 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)
Butte County
18.4 min
36.8 min
153 hrs/yr
$4,750
158
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.
On average, it takes
18.4
minutes to get to work in
Butte County.
That's 18% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Slower than 86% of counties in South Dakota
The most common departure window is 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM, followed by 07:30 AM – 07:59 AM. Driving is the most common commute choice, followed by working from home. About 7.8% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Butte County
Car:
86.3%
Worked at Home:
7.8%
Walked:
4.6%
Other:
0.8%
Public Transportation:
0.4%
Bicycle:
0.1%
Motorcycle:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Riding a motorcycle is essentially absent in Butte County, versus 0.2% in South Dakota.
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Butte County, versus 0.1% in South Dakota.
Commute Mode Trends in Butte County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Butte 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
Bicycle
Taxi
Motorcycle
2009
84.0%
10.1%
4.0%
1.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.4%
2010
87.2%
7.5%
4.3%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.6%
2011
85.9%
7.2%
4.7%
0.8%
0.9%
0.0%
0.0%
0.5%
2012
85.8%
7.1%
4.2%
0.7%
1.3%
0.2%
0.0%
0.6%
2013
86.5%
8.4%
3.4%
0.4%
0.6%
0.2%
0.0%
0.5%
2014
87.0%
8.8%
3.1%
0.2%
0.4%
0.3%
0.0%
0.2%
2015
87.7%
8.8%
2.6%
0.2%
0.3%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
2016
88.4%
8.9%
2.3%
0.1%
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
2017
89.1%
8.3%
2.5%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2018
88.3%
9.1%
2.5%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2019
85.5%
9.9%
4.4%
0.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2020
80.9%
10.6%
7.9%
0.2%
0.3%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2021
80.0%
11.4%
7.7%
0.3%
0.5%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2022
81.1%
10.2%
7.8%
0.4%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2023
81.4%
9.0%
8.3%
0.8%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
2024
86.3%
7.8%
4.6%
0.8%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share was highest in 2017 at 89.1% and lowest in 2021 at 80.0%. Overall it rose from 84.0% in 2009 to 86.3% in 2024, up 2.3 percentage points. It has risen in each of the last 3 releases.
Walking gained the most ground in Butte County: its share of workers rose from 4.0% in 2009 to 4.6% in 2024, up 0.6 percentage points.
Working from home lost the most ground, falling from 10.1% to 7.8% of workers (down 2.3 percentage points).
Walking peaked at 8.3% in 2023 and has since fallen back to 4.6%.
Commute Start Times in Butte County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Butte County?
The bars show when commuters in Butte 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
12:00-4:59 AMButte County8.6%South Dakota4.1%
8.6%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMButte County4.5%South Dakota3.1%
4.5%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMButte County3.1%South Dakota5.1%
3.1%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMButte County7.6%South Dakota6.9%
7.6%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMButte County8.8%South Dakota11.3%
8.8%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMButte County19.0%South Dakota16.2%
19.0%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMButte County14.7%South Dakota19.9%
14.7%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMButte County10.4%South Dakota10.2%
10.4%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMButte County4.1%South Dakota3.7%
4.1%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMButte County3.4%South Dakota4.3%
3.4%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMButte County2.3%South Dakota2.0%
2.3%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMButte County1.9%South Dakota1.4%
1.9%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMButte County5.8%South Dakota6.1%
5.8%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMButte County5.7%South Dakota5.8%
5.7%
Butte CountySouth DakotaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Butte County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 19.0% of commuters leave home, compared with 16.2% across South Dakota. Early starts are more common than in South Dakota: 16.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 12.2% there. The morning rush is more spread out than in South Dakota: 53.0% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 57.7% there. About 1 in 5 commuters (19.1%) 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 Butte 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 Butte 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 Butte 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
Butte County
South Dakota
United States
2009
7:31 AM
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:30 AM
7:40 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:33 AM
7:40 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:24 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:21 AM
7:39 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:27 AM
7:39 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:24 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:27 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:29 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:25 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:25 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:26 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:27 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:22 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:26 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:28 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Butte County were on the road by 7:28 AM, 4 minutes earlier than in 2009 (7:31 AM). South Dakota followed the same path, with the typical start moving 5 minutes earlier. Commuters in Butte County now leave 10 minutes earlier than the typical American commuter (7:38 AM). Since the 2019 release, which covers the years just before the pandemic, the typical start in Butte County has moved 2 minutes later.
How does Butte County's commute time compare?
Metric
Butte County
South Dakota
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
18.4 min
15.3 min
22.4 min
Departure Window
07:00 AM – 07:29 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
7.8%
9.7%
15.0%
Walked
4.6%
3.1%
2.4%
Public Transit
0.4%
0.5%
3.2%
The average commute time in Butte County is 18.4 minutes, longer than the 15.3 minutes in South Dakota.
0.4% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.5% in South Dakota. 4.6% commute by walking, higher than the 3.1% in South Dakota.
Butte County, SD Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Butte County, SD is the 4th largest of the 6 counties compared here, 10,676 residents against a local median of 27,233. Butte County, SD's work from home, at 7.8%, runs 19% below the 9.6% typical of the counties around it.
The counties themselves spread 10.0% on work from home, so Butte County, SD sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Butte County, SD has the 5th highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Butte County, South Dakota.
Is commuting expensive in Butte County, South Dakota?
Commuters here spend an estimated 153 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $4,750 at a typical national wage. That's 20% more than the typical South Dakota commuter spends.
What time should you leave for work to avoid traffic in Butte County, South Dakota?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Butte 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.
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).