Household incomes in Churchill are higher than in 83% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 6.3% of residents (Montana 11.5%). Churchill grades B for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Only 4% work in Churchill itself; outside it, Bozeman draws the most (28%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Churchill apart
Jobs & income in Churchill: the grade in detail
On income, poverty and job access, Churchill is better than 61% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Churchill’s grade up ($108,281, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 16% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
Unemployment (1.3%) is left out: Churchill’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Churchill could be anywhere from C− to A−.
Where Churchill’s working residents head each day
Where Churchill clocks in
28% 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.
Who works in Churchill, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 477 residents head out to work, 20 work right here, and 269 people come in from elsewhere.
About 960 people are in Churchill on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.58 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.
29% of the jobs in Churchill make or build things
289 jobs are based in Churchill.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Churchill, 2013 → 2023: 179 → 289. 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 Churchill’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 23 minutes to work from Churchill
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Churchill workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 546 commuters (the 12% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Churchill
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.
The commute in Churchill is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Churchill is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 618 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.5% of Churchill households have no vehicle (Montana 4.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Churchill’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Churchill ranks: 1,034th of 4,312 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 454 | Wye MT | 1,055 | $110K | 2.7% | 1.3% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 537 | Clinton MT | 1,040 | $104K | 3.8% | 4.1% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,032 | Colebrook CT | 1,388 | $111K | 8.3% | 1.8% | 3% | B |
| 1,033 | Ten Mile Creek MD | 1,184 | $113K | 46.9% | 27.5% | <1% | B |
| 1,034 | Churchill MT | 1,167 | $108K | 6.3% | 1.3% | 4% | B |
| 1,035 | Jamaica Beach TX | 1,071 | $94K | 8.9% | 14.6% | 4% | B |
| 1,036 | Delaware Township OH | 1,252 | $74K | 2.6% | 0.0% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,442 | Helena West Side MT | 1,417 | $67K | 5.9% | 0.3% | 8% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Churchill, the top three, the last and three more from Montana.
The towns around Churchill
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Churchill workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Churchill | – | B | B− | 23 min | $108,281 |
| Amsterdam | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Amsterdam: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Churchill’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 Churchill: questions
What is the median household income in Churchill?
$108,281 (±$48,542) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Churchill?
6.3%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Churchill?
23 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Churchill work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bozeman (28%, 13 mi), Manhattan (10%, 8 mi), Four Corners (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Churchill walkable?
Churchill is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 5.1 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Churchill without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Churchill, from the people who make the trip.
More of Churchill
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.