Work & commute · Kalispell

Work & commute in Kalispell, MT

46% of Kalispell’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Evergreen (7%), Whitefish (5%) and Missoula (4%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

46%

5,659 of 12,255 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

15 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 6,596 Kalispell residents head out of town to work, 5,659 work right here, and 13,614 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kalispell.

6,596live here, work elsewhere

5,659live and work here

13,614work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Kalispell goes to work

Kalispell (in town)right here

46%5,659

Evergreen2.7 mi away

7%871

Whitefish15.3 mi away

5%651

Missoula93.8 mi away

4%515

Columbia Falls12.4 mi away

2%289

Bigfork15.6 mi away

1%146

Helena155.5 mi away

1%118

Billings319.5 mi away

1%114

Forest Hill Village7.3 mi away

1%101

Bozeman233.4 mi away

1%79

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%3,712

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

How far

How far Kalispell commutes

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

68%

15%

16%

68%Under 10 mi

15%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Kalispell is a job hub

1.57jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Kalispell are

19,273 jobs are based in Kalispell. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Kalispell’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Kalispell

19,273 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Kalispell residents hold

12,255 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month55%

+26%

Jobs based in Kalispell, 2013 → 2023: 15,297 → 19,273. 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.