Where Roberts earns its living
Only 4% stay in Roberts for work; outside it, Red Lodge is the main destination (33%, 11 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 32 minutes, next to 19 for Montana and 26 for the U.S. There are 71 jobs in Roberts; 108 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Roberts by day and by night
On a workday 104 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 67 people come in from elsewhere.
About 150 people are in Roberts on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.66 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.
The places Roberts commutes to
Where Roberts clocks in
33% of workers
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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Roberts
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Roberts, 2013 → 2023: 186 → 71. 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 Roberts’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Roberts’ commute takes about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Roberts workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 69 commuters (the 9% 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.
Half of Roberts commutes less than 13 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.
Around Roberts: the bordering towns
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Roberts workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roberts | – | — | — | 32 min | $95,917 |
| Fox | under 1% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Fox: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Roberts’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 Roberts: questions
What is the median household income in Roberts?
$95,917 (±$26,979) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Roberts?
19.4%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Roberts?
32 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Roberts work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Red Lodge (33%, 11 mi), Billings (17%, 43 mi), Joliet (3%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Roberts without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Roberts, from the people who make the trip.
More of Roberts
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.