Photo: Natecation · CC BY-SA 4.0About two in five of Big Arm’s working residents commute to Polson
Big Arm has 54 jobs; 51 of its residents have a job. At home: 0% of workers have no commute at all (Montana 12%). Hardly any work in Big Arm; the top destination outside it is Polson (43%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who leaves Big Arm for work, and who comes in
On a workday 51 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 54 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 (1.06 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 Big Arm’s working residents head each day
Where Big Arm clocks in
43% of workers
14% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Arm, 2013 → 2023: 70 → 54. 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 Big Arm’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Working from home in Big Arm
of Big Arm workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 74 commuters (the 0% who work from home are left out). Across Montana: 81% 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 distance from Big Arm to work
About 31% 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.
Next door to Big Arm
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Big Arm workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Arm | – | — | — | — | — |
| Lindisfarne | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lindisfarne: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Big Arm’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Big Arm: questions
What is the poverty rate in Big Arm?
50.0%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Big Arm work?
0% work in town.
Can you get around Big Arm without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big Arm, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Arm
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.