St. Ignatius Mission · Photo: Loren T. Vine · CC BY-SA 2.5Making a living in St. Ignatius
359 jobs are based in St. Ignatius, against 259 working residents. About one in ten stay in St. Ignatius for work; outside it, Polson is the main destination (20%, 26 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 26 minutes (Montana 19, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from St. Ignatius, in brief
St. Ignatius’ biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside St. Ignatius is Polson, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 20% of working residents (51) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
St. Ignatius 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; with 259 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from St. Ignatius
About 18% 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 St. Ignatius 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 St. Ignatius workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 272 commuters (the 11% 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.
St. Ignatius on a workday afternoon
On a workday 228 residents head out to work, 31 work right here, and 328 people come in from elsewhere.
About 930 people are in St. Ignatius on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.39 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.
Out of St. Ignatius to work: where people go
Where St. Ignatius clocks in
20% of workers
12% of workers
10% 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.
Jobs in St. Ignatius: what the 359 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in St. Ignatius, 2013 → 2023: 301 → 359. 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 St. Ignatius’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 St. Ignatius: questions
What is the median household income in St. Ignatius?
$50,000 (±$10,421) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in St. Ignatius?
21.8%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from St. Ignatius?
26 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in St. Ignatius work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Polson (20%, 26 mi), Missoula (12%, 31 mi), Ronan (10%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around St. Ignatius without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from St. Ignatius, from the people who make the trip.
More of St. Ignatius
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.