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Jobs & commute in Dodson

Jobs, pay and the trip to work in Dodson

Below the poverty line: 8.5% of residents, next to 11.5% across Montana. Only 7% work in Dodson; the top destination outside it is Malta (37%, 18 miles). There are 26 jobs in Dodson for 30 working residents.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

Who works in Dodson, and who works elsewhere

On a workday 28 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 24 people come in from elsewhere.

28live here, work elsewhere
2live and work here
24work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night120
Workday120
120live here− 28head out to work+ 24come in to work= 120on a workday

About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.87jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (0.87 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 commute map

The towns that employ Dodson’s residents

DodsonBig Sandy: 2 residents work here (7%)Chinook: 1 residents work here (3%)HarlowtonMalta: 11 residents work here (37%)Laurel: 1 residents work here (3%)GlendiveLewistownBelgrade: 1 residents work here (3%)Great FallsBozeman: 1 residents work here (3%)BillingsSleeping BuffaloWhitewater: 3 residents work here (10%)ZortmanHays: 2 residents work here (7%)MaltaWhitewaterBig SandyHaysChinookLaurelDodson
1
Malta17.5 mi away
37%11
2
Whitewater38 mi away
10%3
3
Dodson (in town)right here
7%2
4
Big Sandy87.1 mi away
7%2
5
Hays32.7 mi away
7%2
6
Chinook47 mi away
3%1
7
Laurel189.7 mi away
3%1
8
Belgrade227.1 mi away
3%1
9
Bozeman229.3 mi away
3%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
20%6
The top trips

Where Dodson clocks in

Lines 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 jobs

Most jobs in Dodson are in services

Jobs based in DodsonJobs Dodson residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%10%
Trade, transport & utilities0%20%
Services: health, schools, offices100%70%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less0%30%
$1,251–$3,333 a month27%27%
Over $3,333 a month73%43%

Who does it

29 or younger15%33%
30 to 5442%37%
55 and older42%30%
−28%

Jobs based in Dodson, 2013 → 2023: 36 → 26. 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 Dodson’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Working from home in Dodson

Working from home
13%

of Dodson workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How Dodson gets to work
100%Drive alone

Share of the 13 commuters (the 13% 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.

How far

Near or far: the trip to work from Dodson

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miMalta: 37% · 17.5 miWhitewater: 10% · 38 miBig Sandy: 7% · 87.1 miHays: 7% · 32.7 miChinook: 3% · 47 miLaurel: 3% · 189.7 miBelgrade: 3% · 227.1 miBozeman: 3% · 229.3 miMalta 37%Whitewater 10%Big Sandy 7%Hays 7%Chinook 3%Dodson
DodsonTop destinations (size = commuters)
7%Under 10 mi2 residents
43%10–24 mi13 residents
27%25–50 mi8 residents
23%Over 50 mi7 residents

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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Dodson: questions

What is the median household income in Dodson?

$40,804 (±$7,414) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Dodson?

8.5%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

Where do people who live in Dodson work?

7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Malta (37%, 18 mi), Whitewater (10%, 38 mi), Big Sandy (7%, 87 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Dodson without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Dodson, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Dodson

Dodson home →

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.