Pioneer Junction has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
69 jobs are based in Pioneer Junction, against 273 working residents. Only 2% work in Pioneer Junction itself; outside it, Libby draws the most (39%, 5 miles). Working residents average 30 minutes each way (Montana 19, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Pioneer Junction
Pioneer Junction and Libby trade workers both ways
Libby is the top workplace for Pioneer Junction residents (39%) and also where the most people who work in Pioneer Junction come from (23% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Pioneer Junction’s working residents have a job less than 6 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 30 minutes, longer than the Montana average of 19. Time on the road ↓
Pioneer Junction is a place people come home to
There are 69 jobs based in Pioneer Junction, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Pioneer Junction has about 590 people in it, 26% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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 273 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where people from Pioneer Junction work
Where Pioneer Junction clocks in
39% 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.
The trip to work from Pioneer Junction: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pioneer Junction workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 275 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 a workday changes Pioneer Junction
On a workday 268 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 64 people come in from elsewhere.
About 590 people are in Pioneer Junction on a workday afternoon, 26% 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.
Pioneer Junction works in goods: 59% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pioneer Junction, 2013 → 2023: 42 → 69. 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 Pioneer Junction’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Pioneer Junction’s commute, mile by mile
About 29% 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.
Pioneer Junction and its neighbors
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pioneer Junction workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Junction | – | — | — | 30 min | $59,107 |
| White Haven | under 1% | — | — | 11 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. White Haven: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Pioneer Junction’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 Pioneer Junction: questions
What is the median household income in Pioneer Junction?
$59,107 (±$56,539) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pioneer Junction?
2.5%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pioneer Junction?
30 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pioneer Junction work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Libby (39%, 5 mi), Kalispell (8%, 55 mi), Troy (3%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Pioneer Junction without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pioneer Junction, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pioneer Junction
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.