Jobs and earnings in Swan Lake, and the trip to work
30% of workers work from home (Montana 12%). Hardly any stay in Swan Lake for work; outside it, Kalispell is the main destination (25%, 31 miles). Working residents average 33 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
In and out of Swan Lake on a workday
On a workday 28 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 17 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
0.61 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 people from Swan Lake work
Where Swan Lake clocks in
25% of workers
11% 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 Swan Lake: what the 17 are
17 jobs are based in Swan Lake.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Swan Lake, 2013 → 2023: 15 → 17. 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 Swan Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 33 minutes from Swan Lake
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Swan Lake workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 62 commuters (the 30% 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.
Where in the region Swan Lake works
About 21% 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.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Swan Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Swan Lake?
$82,679 (±$29,322) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Swan Lake?
16.1%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Swan Lake?
33 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Swan Lake work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kalispell (25%, 31 mi), Bigfork (25%, 16 mi), Missoula (11%, 74 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Swan Lake 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 Swan Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Swan Lake
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.