With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Box Elder works elsewhere
Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, where Montana as a whole has 12%. 10 jobs are based in Box Elder, against 49 working residents. Hardly any work in Box Elder itself; outside it, Rocky Boy's Agency draws the most (18%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Box Elder: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 49 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 10 people come in from elsewhere.
About 67 people are in Box Elder on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Box Elder: the destinations
Where Box Elder clocks in
6% 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.
A place that makes things: 100% of Box Elder’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Box Elder, 2013 → 2023: 87 → 10. 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 Box Elder’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 10 minutes to work from Box Elder
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Box Elder workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 45 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.
Where in the region Box Elder works
About 39% 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.
Work next door: 14% of Box Elder’s workers
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Box Elder workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Box Elder | – | — | — | 10 min | $42,857 |
| Rocky Boy West | 14% | D− | B− | 14 min | $63,125 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Rocky Boy West. Darker towns draw more of Box Elder’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 Box Elder: questions
What is the median household income in Box Elder?
$42,857 (±$35,164) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Box Elder?
0.0%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Box Elder?
10 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Box Elder work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rocky Boy's Agency (18%, 12 mi), Rocky Boy West (14%, 2 mi), Big Sandy (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Box Elder without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Box Elder, from the people who make the trip.
More of Box Elder
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.