Photo: USEPA Environmental-Protection-Agency · Public domainHouseholds in Libby earn less than those in 98% of U.S. towns
More than half work in Libby; the top destination outside it is Kalispell (5%, 58 miles). Poverty touches 24.0% of residents; Montana has 11.5%. Libby grades D for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Libby
Commutes from Libby 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 ↓
Libby is where the jobs are
Libby has 2,287 jobs, 1.9 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Fewer than half of Libby workers earn over $40,000 a year
42% of Libby’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 19% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Libby has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Libby went from 1,664 in 2013 to 2,287 in 2023, +37%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Jobs & income in Libby: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Libby is better than 10% of U.S. towns, #38 of 42 in Montana. Unemployment holds Libby’s grade up (3.4%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($34,143, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Libby could be anywhere from D− to C.
The trip to work from Libby: about 9 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Libby workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 855 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.
Who commutes out of Libby, and who commutes in
On a workday 580 residents head out to work, 604 work right here, and 1,683 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,400 people are in Libby on a workday afternoon, 34% more than live here.
1.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
What the 2,287 jobs in Libby are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Libby, 2013 → 2023: 1,664 → 2,287. 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 Libby’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting in to Libby: where workers come from
Where Libby clocks in
3% of workers
3% 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.
Where in the region Libby works
About 26% 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.
Libby is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Libby is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #9 of 42 in Montana. Both inputs place Libby 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 962 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). 12.4% of Libby households have no vehicle (Montana 4.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Libby’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Libby is 3,983rd of 4,453 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 849 | Lolo MT | 4,314 | $86K | 5.3% | 0.8% | 7% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 930 | Big Sky MT | 2,445 | $139K | 4.7% | 1.4% | 68% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,113 | Montana City MT | 3,092 | $130K | 1.8% | 3.9% | 7% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,981 | Staples MN | 3,074 | $52K | 15.9% | 6.6% | 22% | D |
| 3,982 | Rosita TX | 2,933 | $37K | 12.0% | 8.1% | 30% | D |
| 3,983 | Libby MT | 3,274 | $34K | 24.0% | 3.4% | 51% | D |
| 3,984 | Decherd TN | 2,499 | $38K | 18.8% | 6.5% | 4% | D |
| 3,985 | Sherman Township MI | 3,236 | $61K | 24.8% | 5.4% | 3% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | 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 Libby, 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 Libby: questions
What is the median household income in Libby?
$34,143 (±$12,347) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Libby?
24.0%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Libby?
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 Libby work?
51% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kalispell (5%, 58 mi), Troy (3%, 16 mi), Missoula (3%, 126 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Libby walkable?
Libby is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Libby without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Libby, from the people who make the trip.
More of Libby
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.