Hornet Lookout · Photo: USFS · Public domainMaking a living in Polebridge
The Census job records count 6 working residents of Polebridge and no jobs based in it. Home is the office for 46% of workers (Montana 12%). Hardly any work in Polebridge; the top destination outside it is Kalispell (17%, 38 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The daily commute in and out of Polebridge
On a workday 6 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 0 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8 people are in Polebridge on a workday afternoon, 43% fewer than live here.
0.00 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Where Polebridge goes to work
Where Polebridge clocks in
17% 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.
Working from home in Polebridge
of Polebridge workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6 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 distance from Polebridge to work
About 33% 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.
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.
- Two counts of out-of-state work. The Census survey asks workers where they work: 0% of Polebridge workers work outside Montana. The job records count 34% at employers in other states. The records use the address the employer reports and skip the self-employed, so the two can differ.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Polebridge: questions
What is the poverty rate in Polebridge?
0.0%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
Where do people who live in Polebridge work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kalispell (17%, 38 mi), Washington Terrace (17%, 537 mi), Spokane (17%, 164 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Polebridge 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 Polebridge, from the people who make the trip.
More of Polebridge
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.