Work & commute · West Glacier

Work & commute in West Glacier, MT

Most working residents leave West Glacier for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Kalispell (22%), Columbia Falls (10%) and Whitefish (8%). Half commute less than 24 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

2 of 50 working residents

Typical commute

24 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

37%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 48 West Glacier residents head out of town to work, 2 work right here, and 109 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Glacier.

48live here, work elsewhere

2live and work here

109work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Glacier goes to work

Kalispell24.4 mi away

22%11

Columbia Falls12.2 mi away

10%5

Whitefish16.3 mi away

8%4

Hungry Horse8.3 mi away

6%3

Helena160.6 mi away

4%2

Great Falls142.5 mi away

4%2

Missoula112 mi away

4%2

Forest Hill Village28.7 mi away

4%2

West Glacier (in town)right here

4%2

Libby71.6 mi away

2%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%16

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

How far

How far West Glacier commutes

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

12%

52%

18%

12%Under 10 mi

52%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Glacier is a job hub

2.22jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in West Glacier are

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

Jobs based in West Glacier

111 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities2%

Services (health, schools, offices…)94%

$1,250 a month or less32%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs West Glacier residents hold

50 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+19%

Jobs based in West Glacier, 2013 → 2023: 93 → 111. 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.