Commuting in Fall River 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, 8:28 PM
How much time do drivers in Fall River County spend on the road daily?
Map AI9/24/26, 8:28 PM
Commute Time Burden in Fall River County: Annual Hours and Cost
Commuters in Fall River County spend about 21 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 86 hours, about 3.6 full days, spent commuting. That is 33% less time on the road than the South Dakota average of 15.3 minutes each way, a difference of 5.0 minutes.
Fall River County holds about 0.8% of South Dakota's population but accounts for roughly 0.5% of its total commuting time.
Working from home just 2 days a week in Fall River County would save about 34 hours of drive time a year, worth roughly $1,063 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)
Fall River County
10.3 min
20.6 min
86 hrs/yr
$2,658
136
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
10.3
minutes to get to work in
Fall River County.
That's 54% shorter than the 22.4-minute U.S. average.
Faster than 83% 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 9.7% work from home.
How People Get to Work in Fall River County
Car:
83.1%
Worked at Home:
9.7%
Walked:
4.5%
Bicycle:
1.2%unusually high
Other:
1.0%
Motorcycle:
0.4%
Public Transportation:
< 0.1%unusually low
Taxi:
< 0.1%unusually low
Public transit is unusually rare in Fall River County: 7.6 times less than the South Dakota average (0.1% vs 0.5%).
Taking a taxi is essentially absent in Fall River County, versus 0.1% in South Dakota.
Biking is unusually common in Fall River County: 3.9 times more than the South Dakota average (1.2% vs 0.3%).
Commute Mode Trends in Fall River County, 2009-2024
This chart shows how workers in Fall River 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
Bicycle
Other
Motorcycle
Public Transportation
Taxi
2009
77.9%
7.2%
13.7%
0.2%
0.8%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
2010
78.0%
5.8%
14.5%
0.9%
0.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2011
83.9%
4.9%
9.3%
0.7%
1.2%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2012
88.4%
2.9%
7.3%
0.2%
1.1%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2013
85.7%
4.5%
7.5%
0.7%
1.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
2014
88.1%
3.2%
5.6%
0.9%
2.2%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
2015
86.7%
5.9%
5.7%
0.0%
1.3%
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
2016
84.1%
5.0%
9.3%
0.0%
1.3%
0.0%
0.4%
0.0%
2017
81.2%
6.8%
9.9%
0.0%
1.8%
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
2018
81.7%
9.0%
8.1%
0.0%
0.9%
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
2019
78.9%
12.2%
8.3%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.5%
0.0%
2020
80.5%
12.6%
6.5%
0.0%
0.1%
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
2021
83.4%
13.4%
2.6%
0.0%
0.2%
0.0%
0.4%
0.0%
2022
82.9%
11.1%
3.5%
1.9%
0.2%
0.2%
0.3%
0.0%
2023
80.3%
11.4%
5.2%
1.5%
1.1%
0.1%
0.4%
0.0%
2024
83.1%
9.7%
4.5%
1.2%
1.0%
0.4%
0.1%
0.0%
Driving was the most common way to get to work in every release from 2009 to 2024. Its share peaked in 2012 at 88.4%. Overall it rose from 77.9% in 2009 to 83.1% in 2024, up 5.2 percentage points. It has risen in the latest release.
Working from home gained the most ground in Fall River County: its share of workers rose from 7.2% in 2009 to 9.7% in 2024, up 2.5 percentage points.
Walking lost the most ground, falling from 13.7% to 4.5% of workers (down 9.2 percentage points).
Working from home overtook walking to become the 2nd most common choice in the 2018 release and has stayed ahead since.
Working from home peaked at 13.4% in 2021 and has since fallen back to 9.7%.
Commute Start Times in Fall River County
What Time Do People Leave for Work in Fall River County?
The bars show when commuters in Fall River 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 AMFall River County5.0%South Dakota4.1%
5.0%
5:00-5:29 AM
5:00-5:29 AMFall River County4.3%South Dakota3.1%
4.3%
5:30-5:59 AM
5:30-5:59 AMFall River County4.9%South Dakota5.1%
4.9%
6:00-6:29 AM
6:00-6:29 AMFall River County3.2%South Dakota6.9%
3.2%
6:30-6:59 AM
6:30-6:59 AMFall River County11.2%South Dakota11.3%
11.2%
7:00-7:29 AM
7:00-7:29 AMFall River County21.4%South Dakota16.2%
21.4%
7:30-7:59 AM
7:30-7:59 AMFall River County21.2%South Dakota19.9%
21.2%
8:00-8:29 AM
8:00-8:29 AMFall River County10.5%South Dakota10.2%
10.5%
8:30-8:59 AM
8:30-8:59 AMFall River County1.1%South Dakota3.7%
1.1%
9:00-9:59 AM
9:00-9:59 AMFall River County2.5%South Dakota4.3%
2.5%
10:00-10:59 AM
10:00-10:59 AMFall River County2.7%South Dakota2.0%
2.7%
11:00-11:59 AM
11:00-11:59 AMFall River County0.1%South Dakota1.4%
0.1%
12:00-3:59 PM
12:00-3:59 PMFall River County5.9%South Dakota6.1%
5.9%
4:00-11:59 PM
4:00-11:59 PMFall River County6.1%South Dakota5.8%
6.1%
Fall River CountySouth DakotaSource: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year estimates
The busiest time to head out in Fall River County is 7:00-7:29 AM, when 21.4% of commuters leave home, compared with 16.2% across South Dakota. Early starts are more common than in South Dakota: 14.2% of commuters leave before 6 AM, versus 12.2% there. The morning rush is more concentrated than in South Dakota: 64.2% of departures fall in the two hours from 6:30 to 8:29 AM, versus 57.7% there. About 1 in 6 commuters (17.3%) 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 Fall River 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 Fall River 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 Fall River 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
Fall River County
South Dakota
United States
2009
7:31 AM
7:40 AM
7:37 AM
2010
7:29 AM
7:40 AM
7:38 AM
2011
7:37 AM
7:40 AM
7:38 AM
2012
7:34 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2013
7:33 AM
7:39 AM
7:39 AM
2014
7:23 AM
7:39 AM
7:39 AM
2015
7:19 AM
7:39 AM
7:38 AM
2016
7:19 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2017
7:20 AM
7:38 AM
7:38 AM
2018
7:20 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2019
7:23 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2020
7:25 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2021
7:21 AM
7:37 AM
7:37 AM
2022
7:24 AM
7:36 AM
7:37 AM
2023
7:32 AM
7:37 AM
7:38 AM
2024
7:30 AM
7:35 AM
7:38 AM
In 2024, half of commuters in Fall River County were on the road by 7:30 AM, 1 minute earlier than in 2009 (7:31 AM). Across South Dakota the shift was bigger still, with the typical start moving 5 minutes earlier. Commuters in Fall River County now leave 8 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 Fall River County has moved 8 minutes later.
How does Fall River County's commute time compare?
Metric
Fall River County
South Dakota
US Average
Avg. Commute Time
10.3 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
9.7%
9.7%
15.0%
Walked
4.5%
3.1%
2.4%
Public Transit
< 0.1%
0.5%
3.2%
The average commute time in Fall River County is 10.3 minutes, shorter than the 15.3 minutes in South Dakota.
0.1% commute by public transit, lower than the 0.5% in South Dakota. 4.5% commute by walking, higher than the 3.1% in South Dakota.
Fall River County, SD Commute Compared With Nearby Counties
Fall River County, SD is typical in size for this group, 7,258 residents against a local median of 8,140, so the measures below are close to a like for like comparison. Fall River County, SD's work from home, at 9.7%, runs 26% above the 7.7% typical of the counties around it.
The counties themselves spread 8.2% on work from home, so Fall River County, SD sits at one end of an already wide local range rather than apart from it. Fall River County, SD has the 3rd highest work from home of the 6 areas compared here.
Common questions about commuting in Fall River County, South Dakota.
What is the financial impact of commuting in Fall River County, South Dakota?
Commuters here spend an estimated 86 hours a year on the road, worth roughly $2,658 at a typical national wage. That's 33% less than the typical South Dakota commuter spends.
What are the busiest morning travel hours in Fall River County, South Dakota?
Traffic peaks between 07:00 AM – 07:29 AM in Fall River 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 common is public transit use in Fall River County, South Dakota?
Public transit usage is significantly lower here than typical: about 0.1% of commuters use it versus 0.5% in South Dakota, meaning a personal vehicle is essential for most workers.
Which counties in South Dakota have the fastest and slowest commutes?
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).