These Are The 10 Hardest Working Places In Montana

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America has been known as the land of opportunity for as long as I can remember. Itâs the one place in the world where if you bare down and keep your nose to the grindstone, you can make a better life for your family and yourself.

And while everyone in Montana works hard, thereâs a certain part of the Treasure State that takes the Puritan work ethic to the extreme â the hardest working places in Montana .

Whoâs the leader of this work around the clock ethos? That would be Helena Valley Northwest which takes top honors for the hardest working place in Montana. People work so hard there they manage to make getting to work a job.

So what other places burn the midnight oil to bring home a large piece of bacon? Youâre going to have to get to the office early and stay late on Fridays to beat out these places in Montana for a promotion:

So listen up South Browning as we explain how we created this ranking, you could learn some things from the rest of the state.

For more MT reading, check out:

How We Determined The Hardest Working Places In The Treasure State

Like all problems here at Zippia, we start with the data to answer the hard questions. Some might even consider us the hardest working data-crunchers this side of the Mississippi.

In this particular case, we went to the latest version of the American Community Survey looking for answers. As luck would have it, the Census Bureau just released the 2009-2014 5-Yr Estimate which would make this analysis the first of its kind with the new data.

After scrolling through what seemed like hundreds of criteria, we settled on this set for each State:

Average hours worked
Average commute time
Workers per household (Employed labor force divided by the number households)
Labor force participation rate
Adults with a college degree

Our thinking went something along the lines of if you are spent the many years getting a degree, are actively seeking employment, work a ton of hours when employed, and spend forever getting to work, you get the Zippia hardworking stamp of approval.

After we got the data for all 53 places in Montana, we ranked each place from 1 to 53 for each of the criteria with 1 being the âhardest workingâ.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each to create a hardworking index.

Finally, we crowned the place with the lowest hard working index the âHardest Working Place In Montanaâ. And, at the end of the day, Helena Valley Northwest had its hard work pay off.

Read the detailed chart below to learn a bit more about why each place ranked where it did.

1. Helena Valley Northwest

Population: 3,939 College Graduates: 41.5%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 38.9
Workers Per Household: 1.7

2. Montana City

Source: Google Maps

Population: 2,683 College Graduates: 44.5%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 39.0
Workers Per Household: 1.4

3. Four Corners

Population: 3,264 College Graduates: 48.8%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 39.0
Workers Per Household: 1.4

4. Big Sky

Population: 2,694 College Graduates: 52.3%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 42.6
Workers Per Household: 1.7

5. Malmstrom Afb

Population: 3,625 College Graduates: 33.2%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 44.8
Workers Per Household: 2.1

6. Belgrade

Population: 7,625College Graduates: 28.3%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 38.4
Workers Per Household: 1.5

7. Colstrip

Population: 2,243College Graduates: 35.6%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 39.1
Workers Per Household: 1.5

8. Lolo

Population: 3,994 College Graduates: 32.3%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 35.3
Workers Per Household: 1.7

9. Red Lodge

Population: 2,337College Graduates: 40.6%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 37.5
Workers Per Household: 1.1

10. Bozeman

Population: 39,123College Graduates: 54.4%
Average Hours Worked Per Week: 35.5
Workers Per Household: 1.5

Detailed List Of Hardest Working Places In Montana

City	Rank	Population	College Graduates	Average Hours Worked Per Week	Workers Per Household
Helena Valley Northwest	1	3,939	41.5%	38.9	1.7
Montana City	2	2,683	44.5%	39.0	1.4
Four Corners	3	3,264	48.8%	39.0	1.4
Big Sky	4	2,694	52.3%	42.6	1.7
Malmstrom AFB	5	3,625	33.2%	44.8	2.1
Belgrade	6	7,625	28.3%	38.4	1.5
Colstrip	7	2,243	35.6%	39.1	1.5
Lolo	8	3,994	32.3%	35.3	1.7
Red Lodge	9	2,337	40.6%	37.5	1.1
Bozeman	10	39,123	54.4%	35.5	1.5
Laurel	11	6,887	18.5%	39.6	1.3
Helena Valley Northeast	12	2,731	34.9%	38.6	1.1
Lewistown	13	5,879	31.3%	40.4	1.1
Lockwood	14	6,943	17.9%	38.6	1.5
Helena Valley West Central	15	8,502	30.6%	37.8	1.4
Billings	16	106,979	30.5%	38.5	1.3
Livingston	17	7,086	30.5%	38.7	1.3
Havre	18	9,668	26.8%	38.8	1.3
Orchard Homes	19	5,410	39.9%	34.2	1.5
Wolf Point	20	2,730	15.1%	39.5	1.3
Sidney	21	5,888	14.8%	42.4	1.3
Cut Bank	22	2,947	23.5%	39.1	1.3
Helena	23	29,142	44.8%	36.7	1.2
East Helena	24	2,497	29.8%	38.9	1.2
East Missoula	25	2,597	29.1%	38.6	1.7
Glasgow	26	3,327	17.4%	39.2	1.2
Columbia Falls	27	4,765	18.4%	38.5	1.4
Whitefish	28	6,542	46.0%	37.0	1.2
Glendive	29	5,167	17.0%	40.8	1.2
Missoula	30	68,377	45.7%	35.3	1.4
Helena Valley Southeast	31	7,340	21.3%	37.7	1.6
Conrad	32	2,600	21.7%	39.2	1.2
Miles City	33	8,553	18.4%	38.7	1.2
Lakeside	34	2,755	39.7%	41.9	0.9
Great Falls	35	59,017	25.5%	38.3	1.2
Columbus	36	2,250	17.3%	40.2	1.3
Deer Lodge	37	3,085	18.6%	35.9	1.1
Shelby	38	3,096	14.9%	39.1	1.1
Dillon	39	4,181	32.4%	38.3	1.2
Townsend	40	2,033	17.4%	38.7	1.1
Hardin	41	3,720	18.1%	39.2	1.3
Butte-Silver Bow	42	33,481	23.6%	37.8	1.1
Kalispell	43	20,629	27.9%	37.0	1.2
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County	44	9,243	18.6%	38.7	1.1
Evergreen	45	6,711	12.1%	35.9	1.3
Bigfork	46	4,375	32.2%	36.8	1.0
Polson	47	4,580	26.5%	37.8	1.1
Hamilton	48	4,486	22.3%	36.7	0.9
Lame Deer	49	2,131	11.6%	35.4	1.5
North Browning	50	2,363	5.4%	39.4	1.2
Libby	51	2,667	19.3%	38.3	0.9
Pablo	52	2,616	4.1%	37.5	1.1
South Browning	53	2,045	4.1%	38.0	1.0

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Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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