Work & commute · Colstrip

Work & commute in Colstrip, MT

41% of Colstrip’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Billings (6%), Lame Deer (6%) and Forsyth (3%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

41%

318 of 769 working residents

Typical commute

2 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

11 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 451 Colstrip residents head out of town to work, 318 work right here, and 488 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Colstrip.

451live here, work elsewhere

318live and work here

488work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Colstrip goes to work

Colstrip (in town)right here

41%318

Billings92.9 mi away

6%47

Lame Deer19.1 mi away

6%47

Forsyth25.9 mi away

3%20

Ashland26 mi away

2%17

Helena262 mi away

1%10

Roundup99.1 mi away

1%7

Sheridan, WY77.6 mi away

1%7

Miles City51.7 mi away

1%6

Lockwood85.2 mi away

1%6

Everywhere elseother towns and states

37%284

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

How far

How far Colstrip commutes

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

60%

11%

21%

60%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Colstrip is balanced between jobs and homes

1.05jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.05 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Colstrip are

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

Jobs based in Colstrip

806 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities37%

Services (health, schools, offices…)44%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month14%

Over $3,333 a month70%

Jobs Colstrip residents hold

769 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month69%

+39%

Jobs based in Colstrip, 2013 → 2023: 578 → 806. 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.