Work & commute · Missoula

Work & commute in Missoula, MT

72% of Missoula’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Helena (2%), Billings (2%) and Orchard Homes (1%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

72%

25,003 of 34,874 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

15%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 9,871 Missoula residents head out of town to work, 25,003 work right here, and 26,349 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Missoula.

9,871live here, work elsewhere

25,003live and work here

26,349work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Missoula goes to work

Missoula (in town)right here

72%25,003

Helena97 mi away

2%597

Billings271.6 mi away

2%524

Orchard Homes2.5 mi away

1%514

Bozeman164.1 mi away

1%467

Kalispell93.8 mi away

1%334

Bonner-West Riverside6.5 mi away

1%300

Wye7.4 mi away

1%299

Great Falls135.2 mi away

1%295

Hamilton43.4 mi away

1%280

Everywhere elseother towns and states

18%6,261

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

How far

How far Missoula commutes

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

79%

16%

79%Under 10 mi

2%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Missoula is balanced between jobs and homes

1.47jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.47 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Missoula are

51,352 jobs are based in Missoula. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Missoula’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Missoula

51,352 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month58%

Jobs Missoula residents hold

34,874 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+18%

Jobs based in Missoula, 2013 → 2023: 43,537 → 51,352. 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.