Graves Hotel · Photo: Mike Cline · Public domainWhere Harlowton earns its living
There are 356 jobs in Harlowton; 292 of its residents have a job. About two in five stay in Harlowton for work; outside it, Judith Gap is the main destination (5%, 17 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 14 minutes, next to 19 for Montana and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Harlowton apart
A big share show a job far from home
33% 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 ↓
Harlowton’s workforce skews older
37% of Harlowton’s working residents are 55 or older. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Harlowton are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 19 across Montana. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Montana worker. Time on the road ↓
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 292 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The distance from Harlowton to work
About 33% 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.
The kinds of work in Harlowton
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Harlowton, 2013 → 2023: 281 → 356. 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 Harlowton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Harlowton: about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Harlowton workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 337 commuters (the 8% 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 workday shuffle in and out of Harlowton
On a workday 178 residents head out to work, 114 work right here, and 242 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 (1.22 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.
Out of Harlowton to work: where people go
Where Harlowton clocks in
5% of workers
4% 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.
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 Harlowton: questions
What is the median household income in Harlowton?
$55,600 (±$13,146) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Harlowton?
18.6%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Harlowton?
14 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Harlowton work?
39% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Judith Gap (5%, 17 mi), Billings (4%, 76 mi), Ryegate (3%, 29 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Harlowton without a car?
1% 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 Harlowton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Harlowton
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.