Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0Forsyth’s household incomes are lower than in 96% of U.S. towns
Forsyth grades D− for jobs and income and A for walkability. 14.1% of residents are in poverty, next to 11.5% for Montana as a whole. About one in three stay in Forsyth for work; outside it, Colstrip is the main destination (9%, 26 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Forsyth
Forsyth’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Forsyth is Colstrip, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (54) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Forsyth than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Forsyth fell from 838 in 2013 to 511 in 2023, −39%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
32% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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 572 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Forsyth
On income, poverty and job access, Forsyth is better than 4% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Forsyth’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (near the bottom of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (4.1%) is left out: Forsyth’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Forsyth could be anywhere from D− to D.
How far it is to work from Forsyth
About 32% 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.
Jobs in Forsyth: what the 511 are
511 jobs are based in Forsyth.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Forsyth, 2013 → 2023: 838 → 511. 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 Forsyth’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Forsyth for work, and who comes in
On a workday 366 residents head out to work, 206 work right here, and 305 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 (0.89 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 towns that employ Forsyth’s residents
Where Forsyth clocks in
8% 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.
Time on the road from Forsyth: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Forsyth workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 635 commuters (the 5% 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.
Forsyth is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Forsyth is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Forsyth near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 670 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.6% of Forsyth households have no vehicle (Montana 4.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Forsyth’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,200, and where Forsyth sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 455 | King Arthur Park MT | 1,992 | $109K | 7.4% | 0.0% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 535 | Manhattan MT | 2,073 | $88K | 2.9% | 0.0% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,215 | Three Forks MT | 1,920 | $80K | 6.2% | 0.0% | 11% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,980 | Sparta Township PA | 1,884 | $58K | 33.9% | 14.2% | 4% | D− |
| 4,981 | Cairo IL | 1,515 | $42K | 19.0% | 14.6% | 19% | D− |
| 4,982 | Forsyth MT | 1,652 | $40K | 14.1% | 4.1% | 36% | D− |
| 4,983 | Everett PA | 1,732 | $39K | 24.5% | 5.0% | 9% | D− |
| 4,984 | Terra Alta WV | 1,413 | $51K | 29.1% | 9.5% | 4% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,381 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Forsyth, the top three, the last and three more from Montana.
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 Forsyth: questions
What is the median household income in Forsyth?
$39,744 (±$7,451) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Forsyth?
14.1%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Forsyth?
20 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Forsyth work?
36% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Colstrip (9%, 26 mi), Billings (8%, 96 mi), Miles City (3%, 41 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Forsyth walkable?
Forsyth is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.8 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Forsyth 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 Forsyth, from the people who make the trip.
More of Forsyth
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.