Work & commute · Willow Creek

Work & commute in Willow Creek, MT

Most working residents leave Willow Creek for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Bozeman (16%), Belgrade (7%) and Three Forks (5%). Half commute less than 28 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

4 of 74 working residents

Typical commute

28 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

46 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 70 Willow Creek residents head out of town to work, 4 work right here, and 88 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Willow Creek.

70live here, work elsewhere

4live and work here

88work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Willow Creek goes to work

Bozeman30 mi away

16%12

Belgrade22.7 mi away

7%5

Three Forks7.2 mi away

5%4

Willow Creek (in town)right here

5%4

Four Corners24.7 mi away

5%4

Billings149.2 mi away

4%3

Livingston53.6 mi away

3%2

Big Sky41.2 mi away

3%2

Whitehall22 mi away

1%1

Townsend35.7 mi away

1%1

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%36

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

How far

How far Willow Creek commutes

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

14%

30%

38%

18%

14%Under 10 mi

30%10–24 mi

38%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Willow Creek is balanced between jobs and homes

1.24jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.24 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Willow Creek are

92 jobs are based in Willow Creek. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Willow Creek’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Willow Creek

92 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less47%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month21%

Jobs Willow Creek residents hold

74 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+171%

Jobs based in Willow Creek, 2013 → 2023: 34 → 92. 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.