Joplin has 0.4 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
The trip to work takes 26 minutes on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 19 jobs are based in Joplin for 46 working residents. Only 4% work in Joplin itself; outside it, Chester draws the most (43%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
In and out of Joplin on a workday
On a workday 44 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 17 people come in from elsewhere.
About 240 people are in Joplin on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer 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 trip to work from Joplin ends
Where Joplin clocks in
43% 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 Joplin’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Joplin, 2013 → 2023: 14 → 19. 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 Joplin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 26 minutes to work from Joplin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Joplin workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 67 commuters (the 18% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Joplin
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.
Around Joplin: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Joplin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joplin | – | — | — | 26 min | $67,891 |
| Inverness | under 3% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Inverness: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Joplin’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Joplin: questions
What is the median household income in Joplin?
$67,891 (±$32,414) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Joplin?
31.7%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Joplin?
26 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Joplin work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Chester (43%, 9 mi), Havre (7%, 50 mi), Cut Bank (4%, 71 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Joplin 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 Joplin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Joplin
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.