Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Drummond

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
Drummond MTPhoto: Melinda R. HImel · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded–Not graded
Jobs & commute in Drummond

Jobs, pay and the trip to work in Drummond

Only 3% stay in Drummond for work; outside it, Missoula is the main destination (26%, 44 miles). The trip to work takes 18 minutes on average, where Montana has 19 and the U.S. 26. There are 69 jobs in Drummond; 65 of its residents have a job.

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

Day and night

In and out of Drummond on a workday

On a workday 63 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 67 people come in from elsewhere.

63live here, work elsewhere
2live and work here
67work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night300
Workday300
300live here− 63head out to work+ 67come in to work= 300on 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?
1.06jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (1.06 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

Where Drummond goes to work

Big Sandy: 1 residents work here (2%)DrummondPhilipsburg: 2 residents work here (3%)EurekaDeer Lodge: 2 residents work here (3%)DillonHamilton: 4 residents work here (6%)PolsonHelenaGreat Falls: 2 residents work here (3%)Bozeman: 4 residents work here (6%)Missoula: 17 residents work here (26%)Billings: 2 residents work here (3%)Anaconda-Deer Lodge CountyAshlandBonner-West Riverside: 2 residents work here (3%)AvonMissoulaHamiltonBozemanPhilipsburgDeer LodgeGreat FallsDrummond
1
Missoula44 mi away
26%17
2
Hamilton56.1 mi away
6%4
3
Bozeman121 mi away
6%4
4
Drummond (in town)right here
3%2
5
Philipsburg24.2 mi away
3%2
6
Deer Lodge27 mi away
3%2
7
Great Falls104.3 mi away
3%2
8
Billings227.8 mi away
3%2
93%2
10
Big Sandy176.1 mi away
2%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
42%27
The top trips

Where Drummond 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

Drummond is a services town

Jobs based in DrummondJobs Drummond residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms13%17%
Trade, transport & utilities1%26%
Services: health, schools, offices86%57%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less33%18%
$1,251–$3,333 a month28%23%
Over $3,333 a month39%58%

Who does it

29 or younger13%17%
30 to 5454%55%
55 and older33%28%
−34%

Jobs based in Drummond, 2013 → 2023: 105 → 69. 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 Drummond’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

About 18 minutes each way, about the MT average

A year of commuting
136 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.7 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Drummond18 min
Montana19 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
13%

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

About 1 in 10
How Drummond gets to work
59%Drive alone
24%Carpool
16%Walk

Share of the 91 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

The commute from Drummond, by distance

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miMissoula: 26% · 44 miHamilton: 6% · 56.1 miBozeman: 6% · 121 miPhilipsburg: 3% · 24.2 miDeer Lodge: 3% · 27 miGreat Falls: 3% · 104.3 miBillings: 3% · 227.8 miBonner-West Riverside: 3% · 38 miBig Sandy: 2% · 176.1 miMissoula 26%Hamilton 6%Bozeman 6%Philipsburg 3%Deer Lodge 3%Drummond
DrummondTop destinations (size = commuters)
15%Under 10 mi10 residents
9%10–24 mi6 residents
45%25–50 mi29 residents
31%Over 50 mi20 residents

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.

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 Drummond: questions

What is the median household income in Drummond?

$58,456 (±$16,500) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Drummond?

12.3%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Drummond?

18 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Drummond work?

3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Missoula (26%, 44 mi), Hamilton (6%, 56 mi), Bozeman (6%, 121 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Can you get around Drummond 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 Drummond, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Drummond

Drummond 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.