Photo: U.S. Farm Services Agency · Public domainAbout two in five of Florence’s working residents commute to Missoula
Florence has 405 jobs; 355 of its residents have a job. About one in ten stay in Florence for work; outside it, Missoula is the main destination (43%, 17 miles). The average commute takes 41 minutes each way; Montana averages 19, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Florence apart on work
Florence workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 41 minutes each way, against 19 across Montana. Over a year that’s about 314 hours of commuting, 169 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
43% of Florence works in Missoula
151 working residents, 43%, have their main job in Missoula, 17 miles away. That’s 5 times as many as work in Florence itself. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 355 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
About 41 minutes each way for Florence’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Florence workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 357 commuters (the 17% 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.
The towns that employ Florence’s residents
Where Florence clocks in
43% 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.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 322 residents head out to work, 33 work right here, and 372 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.14 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.
What Florence’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Florence, 2013 → 2023: 328 → 405. 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 Florence’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Florence to work
About 19% 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 Florence: questions
What is the median household income in Florence?
$102,222 (±$24,384) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Florence?
6.1%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Florence?
41 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Florence work?
9% work in town.
Can you get around Florence without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Florence, from the people who make the trip.
More of Florence
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.