Work & commute · Alpena

Work & commute in Alpena, MI

About one in 3 of Alpena’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Alpena (21%), Lansing (1%) and Gaylord (1%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

39%

1,426 of 3,701 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

11 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 2,275 Alpena residents head out of town to work, 1,426 work right here, and 4,543 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Alpena.

2,275live here, work elsewhere

1,426live and work here

4,543work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Alpena goes to work

Alpena (in town)right here

39%1,426

Alpena2.6 mi away

21%787

Lansing172.3 mi away

1%42

Gaylord60.6 mi away

1%36

Garfield109.9 mi away

1%33

Petoskey78.9 mi away

1%30

Sanborn12.4 mi away

1%27

Ypsilanti197.8 mi away

1%27

Traverse City108 mi away

1%26

Troy172.7 mi away

1%22

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%1,245

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

How far

How far Alpena commutes

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

61%

35%

61%Under 10 mi

2%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

35%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Alpena is a job hub

1.61jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Alpena are

5,969 jobs are based in Alpena. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Alpena’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Alpena

5,969 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Alpena residents hold

3,701 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month43%

+8%

Jobs based in Alpena, 2011 → 2021: 5,507 → 5,969. 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 2021. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2021, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.