More than half of Shepherd’s working residents commute to Billings
Commuters spend 30 minutes getting to work on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. For 33% of workers, the job is at home, against 12% across Montana. Only 3% work in Shepherd; the top destination outside it is Billings (59%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Shepherd in brief
More than half of Shepherd works in Billings
143 working residents, 59%, have their main job in Billings, 15 miles away. That’s 20 times as many as work in Shepherd itself. The commute map ↓
Home offices are common in Shepherd
33% of Shepherd workers work from home, against 13% across Montana. Time on the road ↓
Shepherd workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 19 across Montana. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 84 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; with 241 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Shepherd’s working residents head each day
Where Shepherd clocks in
59% of workers
5% 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.
Commuting from Shepherd: about 30 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shepherd workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 124 commuters (the 33% 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 commutes out of Shepherd, and who commutes in
On a workday 234 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 154 people come in from elsewhere.
About 270 people are in Shepherd on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.67 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Shepherd
161 jobs are based in Shepherd.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shepherd, 2013 → 2023: 205 → 161. 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 Shepherd’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Shepherd
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.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Shepherd: questions
What is the median household income in Shepherd?
$80,125 (±$76,195) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shepherd?
4.8%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shepherd?
30 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 33% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shepherd work?
3% work in town.
Can you get around Shepherd 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 Shepherd, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shepherd
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.