Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Cardwell

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Lewis and Clark Caverns Historic DistrictLewis and Clark Caverns Historic District · Photo: Montanabw · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded–Not graded
Jobs & commute in Cardwell

Where Cardwell earns its living

Home is the office for 0% of workers (Montana 12%). Hardly any stay in Cardwell for work; outside it, Butte-Silver Bow is the main destination (23%, 34 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 48 minutes, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

The daily flow of workers through Cardwell

On a workday 22 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 13 people come in from elsewhere.

22live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
13work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night30
Workday21
30live here− 22head out to work+ 13come in to work= 21on a workday

About 21 people are in Cardwell on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.59jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.59 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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 commute map

Where the trip to work from Cardwell ends

Whitehall: 3 residents work here (14%)Three Forks: 1 residents work here (5%)HamiltonBelgrade: 1 residents work here (5%)Helena: 2 residents work here (9%)Great Falls: 2 residents work here (9%)Bozeman: 1 residents work here (5%)Billings: 1 residents work here (5%)Butte-Silver Bow: 5 residents work here (23%)King Arthur Park: 1 residents work here (5%)CardwellCarter: 1 residents work here (5%)Rader CreekButte-Silver BowWhitehallHelenaGreat FallsThree ForksBelgradeCardwell
1
Butte-Silver Bow33.5 mi away
23%5
2
Whitehall6.4 mi away
14%3
3
Helena50.5 mi away
9%2
4
Great Falls117.5 mi away
9%2
5
Three Forks19.9 mi away
5%1
6
Belgrade38.3 mi away
5%1
7
Bozeman45.7 mi away
5%1
8
Billings164.4 mi away
5%1
9
King Arthur Park42.6 mi away
5%1
10
Carter140.9 mi away
5%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
18%4
The top trips

Where Cardwell clocks in

Lines 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.

The jobs

Mostly health care, schools and offices in Cardwell

13 jobs are based in Cardwell.

Jobs based in CardwellJobs Cardwell residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%27%
Trade, transport & utilities0%32%
Services: health, schools, offices100%41%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less23%5%
$1,251–$3,333 a month31%45%
Over $3,333 a month46%50%

Who does it

29 or younger15%18%
30 to 5454%45%
55 and older31%36%
−32%

Jobs based in Cardwell, 2013 → 2023: 19 → 13. 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 Cardwell’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

The trip to work from Cardwell: about 48 minutes

A year of commuting
366 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 15.3 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Cardwell48 min
Montana19 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
0%

of Cardwell workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Cardwell gets to work
100%Drive alone

Share of the 9 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.

How far

How far Cardwell’s workers travel

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miButte-Silver Bow: 23% · 33.5 miWhitehall: 14% · 6.4 miHelena: 9% · 50.5 miGreat Falls: 9% · 117.5 miThree Forks: 5% · 19.9 miBelgrade: 5% · 38.3 miBozeman: 5% · 45.7 miBillings: 5% · 164.4 miKing Arthur Park: 5% · 42.6 miCarter: 5% · 140.9 miButte-Silver Bow 23%Whitehall 14%Helena 9%Great Falls 9%Three Forks 5%Cardwell
CardwellTop destinations (size = commuters)
23%Under 10 mi5 residents
9%10–24 mi2 residents
41%25–50 mi9 residents
27%Over 50 mi6 residents

About 27% 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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Cardwell: questions

What is the poverty rate in Cardwell?

13.3%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Cardwell?

48 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Cardwell work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Butte-Silver Bow (23%, 34 mi), Whitehall (14%, 6 mi), Helena (9%, 50 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Cardwell 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 Cardwell, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Cardwell

Cardwell home →

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.