Photo: TownofDarby · CC BY-SA 3.0Making a living in Darby
The average commute takes 17 minutes each way, where Montana has 19 and the U.S. 26. About one in five stay in Darby for work; outside it, Hamilton is the main destination (22%, 16 miles). Employers in Darby report 340 jobs; 231 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Darby: the gist
Many jobs in Darby pay little
33% of the jobs based in Darby pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Darby
50% of Darby residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 32% of the jobs based in Darby pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 82% leave town for their job. 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 231 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The kinds of work in Darby
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Darby, 2013 → 2023: 410 → 340. 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 Darby’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Darby by day
On a workday 190 residents head out to work, 41 work right here, and 299 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,000 people are in Darby on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.47 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.
Out of Darby to work: where people go
Where Darby clocks in
22% of workers
5% 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.
Getting to work from Darby takes about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Darby workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 240 commuters (the 10% 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 Darby commutes less than 16 miles
About 29% 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 Darby: questions
What is the median household income in Darby?
$43,627 (±$6,138) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Darby?
13.5%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Darby?
17 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Darby work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hamilton (22%, 16 mi), Missoula (5%, 59 mi), Billings (5%, 271 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Darby without a car?
<1% 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 Darby, from the people who make the trip.
More of Darby
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.