Photo: Mcheath · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Glasgow (0.5%) than in 97% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 9 minutes each way, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. Glasgow grades B for jobs and income and A for walkability. More than half work in Glasgow; the top destination outside it is Billings (4%, 190 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Glasgow at work: what stands out
Commutes from Glasgow are quick
The average trip to work takes 9 minutes, against 19 across Montana. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Montana worker. Time on the road ↓
Most jobs in Glasgow go to people who live here
Of the 1,721 jobs based in Glasgow, 45% are held by Glasgow residents. In most towns, people from elsewhere hold most of the local jobs. Day and night ↓
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.
The figures behind Glasgow’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Glasgow is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #8 of 42 in Montana. Unemployment holds Glasgow’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 6% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Glasgow could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
From Glasgow, about 9 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 2.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Glasgow workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,495 commuters (the 11% 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 daily commute in and out of Glasgow
On a workday 715 residents head out to work, 770 work right here, and 951 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 (1.16 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.
Where Glasgow goes to work
Where Glasgow clocks in
4% of workers
2% of workers
2% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
1,721 jobs are based in Glasgow.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Glasgow, 2013 → 2023: 1,880 → 1,721. 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 Glasgow’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Glasgow goes to work
About 27% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Glasgow
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Glasgow is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #11 of 42 in Montana. Both inputs place Glasgow 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 1,674 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). 9.1% of Glasgow households have no vehicle (Montana 4.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Glasgow’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,562 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,200, Glasgow comes 1,571st on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 932 | Big Sky MT | 2,445 | $139K | 4.7% | 1.4% | 68% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,109 | Montana City MT | 3,092 | $130K | 1.8% | 3.9% | 7% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,569 | Wakeman Township OH | 2,806 | $82K | 11.1% | 2.4% | 2% | B |
| 1,570 | Verona Walk FL | 2,695 | $66K | 1.1% | 2.8% | 1% | B |
| 1,571 | Glasgow MT | 3,145 | $90K | 8.0% | 0.5% | 52% | B |
| 1,572 | Athens Township MI | 2,458 | $63K | 5.4% | 2.0% | 7% | B |
| 1,573 | Carefree AZ | 3,600 | $147K | 11.3% | 3.8% | 8% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,251 | Lakeside MT | 2,386 | $77K | 10.9% | 2.0% | 13% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,562 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Glasgow, 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 Glasgow: questions
What is the median household income in Glasgow?
$90,310 (±$24,313) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Glasgow?
8.0%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Glasgow?
9 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Glasgow work?
52% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Billings (4%, 190 mi), Wolf Point (2%, 46 mi), Nashua (2%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Glasgow walkable?
Glasgow is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Glasgow without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Glasgow, from the people who make the trip.
More of Glasgow
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.