Montana has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each
Montana has 12 jobs; 143 of its residents have a job. Hardly any work in Montana itself; outside it, Eau Claire draws the most (15%, 31 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 26 minutes, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
A workday in Montana: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 143 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 12 people come in from elsewhere.
About 140 people are in Montana on a workday afternoon, 48% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Where Montana goes to work
Where Montana clocks in
13% 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.
Goods, not services: 83% of the jobs in Montana
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Montana, 2014 → 2024: 10 → 12. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Montana’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 26 minutes in Montana
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Montana workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 120 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 86% 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.
The distance from Montana to work
About 24% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Montana and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Montana workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | – | — | — | 26 min | $91,964 |
| Lincoln | under 3% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Burnside | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Dover | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Glencoe | under 3% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Waumandee | under 3% | — | — | 23 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lincoln and Dover: the same communities as the places of those names, graded once. Burnside, Glencoe and Waumandee: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Montana’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 2024, 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 Montana: questions
What is the median household income in Montana?
$91,964 (±$14,420) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Montana?
3.8%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Montana?
26 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Montana work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Eau Claire (15%, 31 mi), Winona (13%, 22 mi), Mondovi (10%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Montana 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 Montana, from the people who make the trip.
More of Montana
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.