John A. Bagley House · Photo: William R Sterling · CC BY-SA 3.0Montpelier has lower household incomes than 72% of U.S. towns
6% of workers have no commute at all; Idaho has 13%. 7.8% of residents live below the poverty line, where Idaho as a whole has 10.6%. The two grades for Montpelier are C for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Montpelier, in brief
Montpelier workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 22 across Idaho. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Many jobs in Montpelier pay little
30% of the jobs based in Montpelier pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The figures behind Montpelier’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Montpelier is better than 34% of U.S. towns, #37 of 59 in Idaho. Unemployment holds Montpelier’s grade up (3.4%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (near the bottom of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Montpelier could be anywhere from D to B.
How long Montpelier spends getting to work: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Montpelier workers work from home, vs 13% across Idaho. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,047 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Idaho: 84% 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.
The kinds of work in Montpelier
979 jobs are based in Montpelier.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Montpelier, 2013 → 2023: 956 → 979. 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 Montpelier’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Montpelier
On a workday 632 residents head out to work, 405 work right here, and 574 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.94 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where people from Montpelier work
Where Montpelier clocks in
6% of workers
5% 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.
Montpelier’s commute, mile by mile
About 28% 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.
Few in Montpelier walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Montpelier is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns, #33 of 59 in Idaho. Both inputs place Montpelier near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,110 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.1% of Montpelier households have no vehicle (Idaho 3.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Montpelier’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Montpelier is 3,165th of 4,969 U.S. towns of 1,900 to 3,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 687 | Hidden Springs ID | 3,378 | $163K | 7.2% | 4.3% | 4% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 709 | Dalton Gardens ID | 2,496 | $80K | 4.6% | 1.1% | 8% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,110 | Ketchum ID | 3,643 | $93K | 5.2% | 0.0% | 37% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,163 | Crane TX | 3,303 | $73K | 14.7% | 3.6% | 12% | C |
| 3,164 | Monroe Township IN | 2,882 | $55K | 10.2% | 4.3% | 14% | C |
| 3,165 | Montpelier ID | 2,710 | $61K | 7.8% | 3.4% | 39% | C |
| 3,166 | West Wyoming PA | 2,678 | $66K | 13.6% | 6.0% | 2% | C |
| 3,167 | Ripley Township IN | 2,064 | $66K | 10.6% | 2.6% | 2% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,969 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Montpelier, the top three, the last and three more from Idaho.
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 Montpelier: questions
What is the median household income in Montpelier?
$61,375 (±$17,827) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,800 across Idaho and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Montpelier?
7.8%, against 10.6% across Idaho and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Montpelier?
31 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Idaho and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Montpelier work?
39% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Soda Springs (6%, 27 mi), Paris (5%, 9 mi), Pocatello (4%, 70 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Montpelier walkable?
Montpelier is more walkable than 67% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Montpelier without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Montpelier, from the people who make the trip.
More of Montpelier
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.