Work & commute · Shelby

Work & commute in Shelby, MT

41% of Shelby’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Great Falls (8%), Helena (5%) and Billings (3%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

41%

420 of 1,021 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

14 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 601 Shelby residents head out of town to work, 420 work right here, and 637 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Shelby.

601live here, work elsewhere

420live and work here

637work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Shelby goes to work

Shelby (in town)right here

41%420

Great Falls73.8 mi away

8%80

Helena131.9 mi away

5%49

Billings243.6 mi away

3%30

Cut Bank23.3 mi away

2%20

Conrad23 mi away

2%20

Bozeman198.5 mi away

1%12

Missoula150.9 mi away

1%12

Sunburst25.7 mi away

1%10

Havre100 mi away

1%10

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%358

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

How far

How far Shelby commutes

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

46%

12%

39%

46%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

39%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Shelby is balanced between jobs and homes

1.04jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.04 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Shelby are

1,057 jobs are based in Shelby. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Shelby’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Shelby

1,057 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Shelby residents hold

1,021 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month50%

−20%

Jobs based in Shelby, 2013 → 2023: 1,327 → 1,057. 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.