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Jobs & commute in Emigrant

With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Emigrant works elsewhere

Only 1% stay in Emigrant for work; outside it, Livingston is the main destination (30%, 22 miles). 66 jobs are based in Emigrant; 176 of its residents have a job. 6% of workers work from home, where Montana as a whole has 12%.

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

66 jobs based here
Household income
$63K
median · Montana $73K
Poverty
30.1%
Montana 11.5%
Unemployment
28.7%
Montana 3.6% · U.S. 5.2%
Time each way
35 min
Montana 19 · U.S. 26
Work in town
1%
2 of 176 working residents
Work from home
6%
Montana 12% · U.S. 15%
Day and night

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

On a workday 174 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 64 people come in from elsewhere.

174live here, work elsewhere
2live and work here
64work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night320
Workday210
320live here− 170head out to work+ 64come in to work= 210on a workday

About 210 people are in Emigrant on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.38jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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 places Emigrant commutes to

San Francisco: 1 residents work here (1%)DenverLavinaThree ForksHardinSidneyLivingston: 52 residents work here (30%)Helena: 4 residents work here (2%)Great FallsBozeman: 33 residents work here (19%)Missoula: 5 residents work here (3%)Billings: 8 residents work here (5%)Gardiner: 7 residents work here (4%)Four Corners: 5 residents work here (3%)EmigrantPrayBig Sky: 5 residents work here (3%)LivingstonBozemanBillingsGardinerMissoulaFour CornersEmigrant
1
Livingston21.7 mi away
30%52
2
Bozeman25.1 mi away
19%33
3
Billings110.2 mi away
5%8
4
Gardiner22.9 mi away
4%7
5
Missoula187.3 mi away
3%5
6
Four Corners28.4 mi away
3%5
7
Big Sky29.3 mi away
3%5
8
Helena103.3 mi away
2%4
9
Emigrant (in town)right here
1%2
10
San Francisco, CA798.6 mi away
1%1
Everywhere elseother towns and states
31%54
The top trips

Where Emigrant clocks in

30% of workers
21.7 mi awayLivingston52 Emigrant residents work here · Jobs & commute →
19% of workers
25.1 mi awayBozeman33 Emigrant residents work here · Jobs & commute →
5% of workers
110.2 mi awayBillings8 Emigrant 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.

The jobs

What Emigrant’s employers do

Jobs based in EmigrantJobs Emigrant residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms17%16%
Trade, transport & utilities11%14%
Services: health, schools, offices73%70%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less24%13%
$1,251–$3,333 a month42%19%
Over $3,333 a month33%69%

Who does it

29 or younger11%18%
30 to 5462%55%
55 and older27%27%
+61%

Jobs based in Emigrant, 2013 → 2023: 41 → 66. 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 Emigrant’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

The daily trip from Emigrant: about 35 minutes

A year of commuting
266 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.1 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Emigrant35 min
Montana19 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
6%

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

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

Share of the 101 commuters (the 6% 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

Short hops and long hauls from Emigrant

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miLivingston: 30% · 21.7 miBozeman: 19% · 25.1 miBillings: 5% · 110.2 miGardiner: 4% · 22.9 miMissoula: 3% · 187.3 miFour Corners: 3% · 28.4 miBig Sky: 3% · 29.3 miHelena: 2% · 103.3 miSan Francisco: 1% · 798.6 miLivingston 30%Bozeman 19%Billings 5%Gardiner 4%Missoula 3%Emigrant
EmigrantTop destinations (size = commuters)
5%Under 10 mi9 residents
46%10–24 mi79 residents
31%25–50 mi53 residents
18%Over 50 mi30 residents

About 18% 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.

Next door

Around Emigrant: the bordering towns

Pray: few work herePrayEmigrant
10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%
Prayunder 1% of Emigrant

Jobs & commute next door

TownEmigrant workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Emigrant–——35 min$62,863
Prayunder 1%B−B36 min$96,250

Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

Darker towns draw more of Emigrant’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

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 Emigrant: questions

What is the median household income in Emigrant?

$62,863 (±$30,879) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Emigrant?

30.1%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Emigrant?

35 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Emigrant work?

1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Livingston (30%, 22 mi), Bozeman (19%, 25 mi), Billings (5%, 110 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

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

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Emigrant

Emigrant home →
$784Ktypical home
HousingLive where you work?Home values, rent & the market in Emigrant
35min commute
HandbookGetting around EmigrantRoads, 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.