Photo: Nomadic Lass from Havre, MT, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0Harlem draws 303 commuters a day, with 2.3 jobs for every working resident
About two in five work in Harlem; the top destination outside it is Chinook (6%, 21 miles). Employers in Harlem report 373 jobs, and 161 of its residents work somewhere. Working residents average 15 minutes each way, where Montana has 19 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who commutes out of Harlem, and who commutes in
On a workday 91 residents head out to work and 70 work right here.
About 960 people are in Harlem on a workday afternoon, 28% more than live here.
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 the people who work in Harlem live
Where Harlem clocks in
6% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
In Harlem, services account for most jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Harlem, 2013 → 2023: 241 → 373. 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 Harlem’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Harlem: about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Harlem workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 355 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Harlem
About 35% 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 Harlem: questions
What is the median household income in Harlem?
$82,596 (±$10,942) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Harlem?
11.7%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Harlem?
15 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Harlem work?
43% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chinook (6%, 21 mi), Missoula (5%, 269 mi), Billings (5%, 190 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Harlem without a car?
0% 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 Harlem, from the people who make the trip.
More of Harlem
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.