Dayton State Bank · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Dayton commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
Hardly any work in Dayton; the top destination outside it is Polson (26%, 14 miles). Employers in Dayton report 19 jobs, and 35 of its residents work somewhere. Commuters spend 41 minutes getting to work on average, where Montana has 19 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily flow of workers through Dayton
On a workday 35 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 19 people come in from elsewhere.
About 72 people are in Dayton on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
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 towns that employ Dayton’s residents
Where Dayton clocks in
26% of workers
14% 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.
32% of the jobs in Dayton make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dayton, 2013 → 2023: 6 → 19. 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 Dayton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Dayton spends getting to work: about 41 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dayton workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14 commuters (the 18% 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.
Where in the region Dayton works
About 31% 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 Dayton: questions
What is the median household income in Dayton?
$100,313 (±$39,642) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dayton?
6.8%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dayton?
41 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dayton work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Polson (26%, 14 mi), Missoula (14%, 69 mi), Kalispell (11%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Dayton 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 Dayton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dayton
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.