Work & commute · Polson

Work & commute in Polson, MT

43% of Polson’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Missoula (7%), Ronan (6%) and Kalispell (5%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

43%

817 of 1,910 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 1,093 Polson residents head out of town to work, 817 work right here, and 3,048 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Polson.

1,093live here, work elsewhere

817live and work here

3,048work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Polson goes to work

Polson (in town)right here

43%817

Missoula56.5 mi away

7%134

Ronan11.3 mi away

6%120

Kalispell37.5 mi away

5%105

Pablo6 mi away

3%60

Evergreen37.8 mi away

1%23

Whitefish52.6 mi away

1%21

Bozeman201.5 mi away

1%21

Helena125.1 mi away

1%19

Billings295.3 mi away

1%19

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%571

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

How far

How far Polson commutes

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

56%

11%

22%

56%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Polson is a job hub

2.02jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Polson are

3,865 jobs are based in Polson. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Polson’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Polson

3,865 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)81%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Polson residents hold

1,910 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+12%

Jobs based in Polson, 2013 → 2023: 3,444 → 3,865. 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.