Work & commute · Backus

Work & commute in Backus, MI

Most working residents leave Backus for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Denton (14%), Roscommon (7%) and Grayling (6%). Half commute less than 28 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1 of 72 working residents

Typical commute

28 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 71 Backus residents head out of town to work, 1 work right here, and 60 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Backus.

71live here, work elsewhere

1live and work here

60work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Backus goes to work

Denton6.7 mi away

14%10

Roscommon11 mi away

7%5

Grayling27.9 mi away

6%4

Higgins9.8 mi away

6%4

Clare32.9 mi away

4%3

Caro78.3 mi away

3%2

Gladwin20.1 mi away

3%2

Saginaw65.8 mi away

3%2

Midland47.3 mi away

3%2

Lansing107.7 mi away

3%2

Everywhere elseother towns and states

50%36

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

How far

How far Backus commutes

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

19%

25%

18%

38%

19%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

38%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Backus is balanced between jobs and homes

0.85jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.85 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Backus are

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

Jobs based in Backus

61 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)93%

Trade, transport & utilities0%

Services (health, schools, offices…)7%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month62%

Jobs Backus residents hold

72 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities31%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less24%

$1,251–$3,333 a month44%

Over $3,333 a month32%

−15%

Jobs based in Backus, 2011 → 2021: 72 → 61. 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.