Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Livingston has lower unemployment (1.9%) than 86% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Livingston C+; getting around on foot earns it A. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 0.0 in Billings. About one in three work in Livingston; the top destination outside it is Bozeman (18%, 24 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Livingston: the gist
Livingston’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Livingston is Bozeman, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 18% of working residents (740) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Livingston 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.
Inside Livingston’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Livingston is better than 40% of U.S. towns, #25 of 42 in Montana. Unemployment holds Livingston’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 17% of U.S. towns).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Livingston could be anywhere from C− to B.
Half of Livingston commutes less than 20 miles
About 17% 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 long Livingston spends getting to work: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Livingston workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,062 commuters (the 14% 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 leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 2,529 residents head out to work, 1,494 work right here, and 2,036 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 (0.88 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.
Commuting out of Livingston: the destinations
Where Livingston clocks in
18% of workers
3% of workers
2% 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 Livingston’s 3,530 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Livingston, 2013 → 2023: 2,912 → 3,530. 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 Livingston’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Livingston, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Livingston is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #7 of 42 in Montana. Both inputs place Livingston 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 4,730 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 20% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 43% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.8% of Livingston households have no vehicle (Montana 4.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Livingston’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Livingston is 1,951st of 2,841 U.S. towns of 6,500 to 12,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,364 | Helena Valley West Central MT | 8,056 | $90K | 7.1% | 3.8% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,512 | Laurel MT | 7,205 | $68K | 10.0% | 2.4% | 18% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,610 | Whitefish MT | 9,358 | $74K | 9.4% | 2.4% | 37% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,949 | Snyder TX | 11,166 | $58K | 12.4% | 1.3% | 37% | C+ |
| 1,950 | Fayette Township OH | 8,131 | $58K | 15.4% | 0.8% | 7% | C+ |
| 1,951 | Livingston MT | 9,290 | $66K | 13.7% | 1.9% | 37% | C+ |
| 1,952 | Marshfield MO | 8,078 | $68K | 18.1% | 3.4% | 23% | C+ |
| 1,953 | Ione CA | 9,282 | $91K | 8.1% | 6.0% | 7% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,841 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Livingston, 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 Livingston: questions
What is the median household income in Livingston?
$65,861 (±$8,002) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Livingston?
13.7%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Livingston?
26 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Livingston work?
37% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bozeman (18%, 24 mi), Billings (3%, 97 mi), Missoula (2%, 186 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Livingston walkable?
Livingston is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.2 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Livingston without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Livingston, from the people who make the trip.
More of Livingston
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.