Tenth Street Bridge · Photo: Jet Lowe · Public domainFor about two in three of its working residents, Black Eagle is a commute to Great Falls
Commuters spend 15 minutes getting to work on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home, next to 12% for Montana as a whole. Black Eagle has 649 jobs, against 384 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Black Eagle
More than half of Black Eagle works in Great Falls
244 working residents, 64%, have their main job in Great Falls, 2.6 miles away across the town line. That’s 32 times as many as work in Black Eagle itself. The commute map ↓
Most Black Eagle residents work close to home
73% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
Black Eagle is where the jobs are
Black Eagle has 649 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
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; with 384 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Black Eagle’s workers come from
Where Black Eagle clocks in
64% of workers
4% of workers
2% 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.
How many miles Black Eagle commutes
About 21% 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.
Black Eagle on a workday afternoon
On a workday 376 residents head out to work, 8 work right here, and 641 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,000 people are in Black Eagle on a workday afternoon, 34% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The kinds of work in Black Eagle
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Black Eagle, 2013 → 2023: 601 → 649. 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 Black Eagle’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Black Eagle’s commute takes about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Black Eagle workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 473 commuters (the 4% 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.
Black Eagle and its neighbors: 64% work next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Black Eagle workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Eagle | – | — | — | 15 min | $69,545 |
| Great Falls | 64% | C+ | A− | 15 min | $63,373 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Great Falls. Darker towns draw more of Black Eagle’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 Black Eagle: questions
What is the median household income in Black Eagle?
$69,545 (±$8,871) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Black Eagle?
31.4%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Black Eagle?
15 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Black Eagle work?
2% work in town.
Can you get around Black Eagle without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Black Eagle, from the people who make the trip.
More of Black Eagle
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.