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Jobs & commute in Elmo

Work means Polson for about half of Elmo’s working residents

Hardly any stay in Elmo for work; outside it, Polson is the main destination (45%, 14 miles). Home is the office for 0% of workers, against 12% across Montana. No jobs are based in Elmo in the Census job records; 64 of its residents work elsewhere.

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

0 jobs based here
Poverty
11.7%
Montana 11.5%
Unemployment
0.0%
Montana 3.6% · U.S. 5.2%
Work in town
0%
0 of 64 working residents
Work from home
0%
Montana 12% · U.S. 15%
Day and night

A workday in Elmo: who goes, who stays, who comes

On a workday 64 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 0 people come in from elsewhere.

64live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
0work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night290
Workday230
290live here− 64head out to work+ 0come in to work= 230on a workday

About 230 people are in Elmo on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.00jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.00 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.

The commute map

Commuting out of Elmo: the destinations

Hot Springs: 2 residents work here (3%)St. Ignatius: 1 residents work here (2%)Ronan: 6 residents work here (9%)Columbia Falls: 1 residents work here (2%)Polson: 29 residents work here (45%)Kalispell: 3 residents work here (5%)Bozeman: 2 residents work here (3%)Missoula: 2 residents work here (3%)ElmoPablo: 3 residents work here (5%)Big Arm: 3 residents work here (5%)PolsonRonanKalispellPabloBig ArmHot SpringsElmo
1
Polson13.7 mi away
45%29
2
Ronan23.8 mi away
9%6
3
Kalispell26.8 mi away
5%3
4
Pablo19.2 mi away
5%3
5
Big Arm4.4 mi away
5%3
6
Hot Springs21.3 mi away
3%2
7
Bozeman215.2 mi away
3%2
8
Missoula67.7 mi away
3%2
9
St. Ignatius37.2 mi away
2%1
10
Columbia Falls38.2 mi away
2%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
19%12
The top trips

Where Elmo clocks in

45% of workers
13.7 mi awayPolson29 Elmo residents work here · Jobs & commute →
9% of workers
23.8 mi awayRonan6 Elmo residents work here · Jobs & commute →
5%Kalispell
5% of workers
26.8 mi awayKalispell3 Elmo residents work here · Jobs & commute →

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.

Time on the road

Working from home in Elmo

Working from home
0%

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

About 0 in 10
How Elmo gets to work
50%Drive alone
50%Carpool

Share of the 48 commuters (the 0% 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

Elmo’s commute, mile by mile

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miPolson: 45% · 13.7 miRonan: 9% · 23.8 miKalispell: 5% · 26.8 miPablo: 5% · 19.2 miBig Arm: 5% · 4.4 miHot Springs: 3% · 21.3 miBozeman: 3% · 215.2 miMissoula: 3% · 67.7 miSt. Ignatius: 2% · 37.2 miColumbia Falls: 2% · 38.2 miPolson 45%Ronan 9%Kalispell 5%Pablo 5%Big Arm 5%Elmo
ElmoTop destinations (size = commuters)
5%Under 10 mi3 residents
70%10–24 mi45 residents
11%25–50 mi7 residents
14%Over 50 mi9 residents

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 Elmo: questions

What is the poverty rate in Elmo?

11.7%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

Where do people who live in Elmo work?

0% work in town.

Can you get around Elmo without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 34% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

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

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Elmo

Elmo home →
$808Ktypical home
HousingLive where you work?Home values, rent & the market in Elmo
HandbookGetting around ElmoRoads, buses, parking and the basics
shortest commutes
RankingsTop towns in MTShortest commutes, work from home & more

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.