See what the average commute is in Mellette County, SD

American commutes are getting longer, with a U.S. Census Bureau report released in 2021 revealing the average one-way commute in 2019 reached a record high of 27.6 minutes. Combined with high gas prices, workers' daily commutes are increasingly time-consuming and expensive—so much so that some are calling for commutes to count as part of the workday.

Even worse are travel times for "super commuters"—that unlucky 10% of Americans traveling more than one hour each way to punch a clock.

Stacker compiled statistics about the average commute in Mellette County using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics are calculated based on 2020 5-year estimates. Mellette County has a longer commute than all of its five neighboring counties, with Tripp County, SD having the shortest commute at 13.1 minutes.

Mellette County commuting by the numbers
- Average commute: 20.5 minutes
--- 18.7% higher than state average
--- #14 worst commute in the state
- Workers with 1+ hour commute: 1.5%
- Workers who drive to work: 86.0%
--- Workers who carpool to work: 13.4%
- Workers who take public transport to work: 0.0%
- Workers who work from home: 1.5%
- Left for work between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.: 4.0%
- Worked outside county of residence: 33.3%

Commutes in neighboring counties
#1. Tripp County, SD: 13.1 minutes
#2. Jackson County, SD: 14.4 minutes
#3. Lyman County, SD: 14.7 minutes
#4. Jones County, SD: 15.0 minutes
#5. Todd County, SD: 20.1 minutes
#6. Mellette County, SD: 20.5 minutes

Counties with the best commute in South Dakota
#1. Hyde County: 11.5 minutes
#2. Hughes County: 12.0 minutes
#3. Davison County: 12.2 minutes

Counties with the worst commute in South Dakota
#1. Custer County: 28.5 minutes
#2. Turner County: 25.5 minutes
#3. McCook County: 25.2 minutes