St. Joseph's Catholic Church · Photo: Montanasuffragettes · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs, income and commuting in Charlo, MT
Only 2% work in Charlo; the top destination outside it is Polson (14%, 17 miles). 20% of workers work from home, next to 12% for Montana as a whole. The average commute takes 31 minutes each way (Montana 19, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Charlo: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 127 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 80 people come in from elsewhere.
About 260 people are in Charlo on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.64 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.
Where people from Charlo work
Where Charlo clocks in
14% of workers
13% of workers
12% 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.
Jobs in Charlo: what the 82 are
82 jobs are based in Charlo.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Charlo, 2013 → 2023: 84 → 82. 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 Charlo’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 31 minutes each way, longer than most of Montana
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Charlo workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 109 commuters (the 20% 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.
Half of Charlo commutes less than 17 miles
About 19% 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.
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 Charlo: questions
What is the median household income in Charlo?
$40,469 (±$6,684) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Charlo?
17.3%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Charlo?
31 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Charlo work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Polson (14%, 17 mi), Missoula (13%, 40 mi), Ronan (12%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Charlo without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Charlo, from the people who make the trip.
More of Charlo
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.