Photo: Robert Ashworth from Bellingham, WA., USA · CC BY 2.0Earning a living in Culbertson
3% of workers have no commute at all, where Montana as a whole has 12%. About one in seven work in Culbertson; the top destination outside it is Williston (19%, 40 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 21 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
Where Culbertson stands out on work
Culbertson’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Culbertson is Williston, ND, 40 miles away as the crow flies. 19% of working residents (55) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A lot of Culbertson workers cross into North Dakota
20% of Culbertson workers work outside Montana, most of them in North Dakota, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Culbertson than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Culbertson fell from 368 in 2013 to 246 in 2023, −33%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 294 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How far Culbertson goes to work
About 23% 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.
Out of Culbertson to work: where people go
Where Culbertson clocks in
19% of workers
5% 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.
The 246 jobs based in Culbertson
246 jobs are based in Culbertson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Culbertson, 2013 → 2023: 368 → 246. 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 Culbertson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Culbertson: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 248 residents head out to work, 46 work right here, and 200 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.84 per resident).
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 daily trip from Culbertson: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Culbertson workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 290 commuters (the 3% 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.
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 Culbertson: questions
What is the median household income in Culbertson?
$101,136 (±$13,648) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Culbertson?
10.3%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Culbertson?
21 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Culbertson work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Williston (19%, 40 mi), Bainville (7%, 14 mi), Williston Township (5%, 38 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Culbertson without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Culbertson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Culbertson
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.