Work & commute · Baker

Work & commute in Baker, MT

43% of Baker’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Billings (3%), Plevna (2%) and Ekalaka (2%). Half commute less than 1 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

43%

247 of 579 working residents

Typical commute

1 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 332 Baker residents head out of town to work, 247 work right here, and 426 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Baker.

332live here, work elsewhere

247live and work here

426work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Baker goes to work

Baker (in town)right here

43%247

Billings208.9 mi away

3%17

Plevna12.4 mi away

2%13

Ekalaka35.5 mi away

2%9

Glendive55.3 mi away

1%7

Helena368.7 mi away

1%7

Great Falls340.6 mi away

1%7

Sidney93.5 mi away

1%6

Dickinson, ND79 mi away

1%6

Miles City74.7 mi away

1%5

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%255

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Baker commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

66%

26%

66%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Baker is balanced between jobs and homes

1.16jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.16 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Baker are

673 jobs are based in Baker. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Baker’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Baker

673 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month46%

Jobs Baker residents hold

579 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month55%

−36%

Jobs based in Baker, 2013 → 2023: 1,052 → 673. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.