Photo: USGS · Public domainThere are 4.5 jobs in Sweet Grass for every working resident, and 57 people commute in
Employers in Sweet Grass report 59 jobs; 13 of its residents have a job. About one in seven work in Sweet Grass; the top destination outside it is Shelby (23%, 34 miles). For 0% of workers, the job is at home, against 12% across Montana.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Sweet Grass nearly doubles on a workday
On a workday 11 residents head out to work and 2 work right here.
About 120 people are in Sweet Grass on a workday afternoon, 66% more than live here.
4.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Commuting in to Sweet Grass: where workers come from
Where Sweet Grass clocks in
23% of workers
8% of workers
8% 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.
The kinds of work in Sweet Grass
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sweet Grass, 2013 → 2023: 37 → 59. 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 Sweet Grass’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Sweet Grass spends getting to work: about 4 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 1.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sweet Grass workers work from home, vs 13% across Montana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 41 commuters (the 0% 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.
How far Sweet Grass goes to work
About 46% 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 Sweet Grass: questions
What is the median household income in Sweet Grass?
$82,000 (±$1,800) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,509 across Montana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sweet Grass?
0.0%, against 11.5% across Montana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sweet Grass?
4 minutes each way on average, against 19 across Montana and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sweet Grass work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Shelby (23%, 34 mi), Greeley (8%, 689 mi), Conrad (8%, 57 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Sweet Grass 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 Sweet Grass, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sweet Grass
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.