Photo: Montanabw · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs and the daily commute in Lincoln
A typical one-way commute lasts 18 minutes (Montana 19, U.S. 26). Home is the office for 45% of workers, next to 12% for Montana as a whole. About one in five work in Lincoln itself; outside it, Helena draws the most (9%, 40 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Lincoln
A lot of Lincoln works from home
45% of Lincoln workers work from home, against 13% across Montana. Time on the road ↓
Lincoln’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Lincoln is Helena, 40 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (20) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
42% 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 ↓
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 231 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Commuting from Lincoln: about 18 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lincoln workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 203 commuters (the 45% 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 commute from Lincoln, by distance
About 42% 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.
How many people are in Lincoln by day
On a workday 180 residents head out to work, 51 work right here, and 291 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,000 people are in Lincoln on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.48 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.
The places Lincoln commutes to
Where Lincoln clocks in
9% 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.
Inside Lincoln’s 342 jobs
342 jobs are based in Lincoln.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lincoln, 2013 → 2023: 105 → 342. 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 Lincoln’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Lincoln: questions
What is the median household income in Lincoln?
$62,813 (±$22,572) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lincoln?
6.4%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lincoln?
18 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 45% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lincoln work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Helena (9%, 40 mi), Augusta (8%, 39 mi), East Helena (5%, 44 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Lincoln without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lincoln, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lincoln
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.