Photo: J.B. Chandler · CC BY-SA 3.0Earning a living in Ekalaka
25% of workers have no commute at all, against 12% across Montana. About one in four work in Ekalaka itself; outside it, Alzada draws the most (9%, 60 miles). The average commute takes 6 minutes each way, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who leaves Ekalaka for work, and who comes in
On a workday 74 residents head out to work, 23 work right here, and 137 people come in from elsewhere.
About 460 people are in Ekalaka on a workday afternoon, 16% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where Ekalaka’s workers come from
Where Ekalaka clocks in
9% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
What Ekalaka’s employers do
160 jobs are based in Ekalaka.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ekalaka, 2013 → 2023: 110 → 160. 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 Ekalaka’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Ekalaka: about 6 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ekalaka workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 61 commuters (the 25% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Ekalaka
About 53% 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 Ekalaka: questions
What is the median household income in Ekalaka?
$30,000 (±$13,395) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ekalaka?
27.2%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ekalaka?
6 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 25% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ekalaka work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Alzada (9%, 60 mi), Miles City (3%, 71 mi), Great Falls (3%, 338 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Ekalaka without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ekalaka, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ekalaka
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.