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Jobs & commute in Carter

Most of Carter commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident

Employers in Carter report 8 jobs, against 17 working residents. Hardly any stay in Carter for work; outside it, Fort Benton is the main destination (41%, 13 miles). Home is the office for 0% of workers (Montana 12%).

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

Day and night

Who leaves Carter for work, and who comes in

On a workday 17 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 8 people come in from elsewhere.

17live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
8work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night60
Workday51
60live here− 17head out to work+ 8come in to work= 51on a workday

About 51 people are in Carter on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.47jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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 Carter’s working residents head each day

Fort Benton: 7 residents work here (41%)East Helena: 1 residents work here (6%)Kalispell: 1 residents work here (6%)Great Falls: 3 residents work here (18%)Hilldale ColonyBlack Eagle: 1 residents work here (6%)CardwellCarterFort BentonGreat FallsEast HelenaKalispellBlack EagleCarter
1
Fort Benton13.3 mi away
41%7
2
Great Falls25.6 mi away
18%3
3
East Helena94.6 mi away
6%1
4
Kalispell159.8 mi away
6%1
5
Black Eagle23 mi away
6%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
24%4
The top trips

Where Carter 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

Jobs in Carter: what the 8 are

Jobs based in CarterJobs Carter residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%24%
Trade, transport & utilities100%18%
Services: health, schools, offices0%59%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less25%29%
$1,251–$3,333 a month13%41%
Over $3,333 a month63%29%

Who does it

29 or younger25%18%
30 to 5463%41%
55 and older13%41%
−43%

Jobs based in Carter, 2013 → 2023: 14 → 8. 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 Carter’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Working from home in Carter

Working from home
0%

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

About 0 in 10
How Carter gets to work
15%Drive alone
85%Carpool

Share of the 13 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

Carter’s commute, mile by mile

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miFort Benton: 41% · 13.3 miGreat Falls: 18% · 25.6 miEast Helena: 6% · 94.6 miKalispell: 6% · 159.8 miBlack Eagle: 6% · 23 miFort Benton 41%Great Falls 18%East Helena 6%Kalispell 6%Black Eagle 6%Carter
CarterTop destinations (size = commuters)
6%Under 10 mi1 residents
59%10–24 mi10 residents
12%25–50 mi2 residents
24%Over 50 mi4 residents

About 24% 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 Carter: questions

What is the poverty rate in Carter?

28.3%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

Where do people who live in Carter work?

0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Fort Benton (41%, 13 mi), Great Falls (18%, 26 mi), East Helena (6%, 95 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

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

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Carter

Carter 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.