Baker and Lovering Store · Photo: 25or6to4 · CC BY-SA 4.0Earning a living in Joliet
The average commute takes 26 minutes each way, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. Only 7% work in Joliet itself; outside it, Billings draws the most (35%, 29 miles). 150 jobs are based in Joliet, and 242 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Joliet, in brief
One in three of Joliet works in Billings
85 working residents, 35%, have their main job in Billings, 29 miles away. That’s 5 times as many as work in Joliet itself. The commute map ↓
Joliet workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 26 minutes each way, against 19 across Montana. Over a year that’s about 199 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical 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 242 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Commuting out of Joliet: the destinations
Where Joliet clocks in
35% of workers
7% 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.
Joliet’s commute takes about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Joliet workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 266 commuters (the 15% 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.
How many people are in Joliet by day
On a workday 226 residents head out to work, 16 work right here, and 134 people come in from elsewhere.
About 520 people are in Joliet on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.62 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Joliet
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Joliet, 2013 → 2023: 188 → 150. 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 Joliet’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Joliet
About 22% 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 Joliet: questions
What is the median household income in Joliet?
$77,396 (±$14,154) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Joliet?
14.0%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Joliet?
26 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Joliet work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Billings (35%, 29 mi), Laurel (7%, 16 mi), Red Lodge (4%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Joliet without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Joliet, from the people who make the trip.
More of Joliet
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.