Work & commute · Bay

Work & commute in Bay, MI

About one in 5 of Bay’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Saginaw (7%), Midland (7%) and Saginaw (7%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

20%

2,339 of 11,558 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 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 9,219 Bay residents head out of town to work, 2,339 work right here, and 8,883 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bay.

9,219live here, work elsewhere

2,339live and work here

8,883work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bay goes to work

Bay City (in town)right here

20%2,339

Saginaw12.4 mi away

7%865

Midland17.4 mi away

7%791

Saginaw11.8 mi away

7%769

Bangor4.3 mi away

5%628

Monitor5.2 mi away

5%611

Hampton6.2 mi away

3%295

Kochville7.6 mi away

2%270

Buena Vista9.5 mi away

2%218

Portsmouth3.7 mi away

1%146

Everywhere elseother towns and states

40%4,626

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

How far

How far Bay commutes

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

45%

27%

21%

45%Under 10 mi

27%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

21%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bay is balanced between jobs and homes

0.97jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.97 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Bay are

11,222 jobs are based in Bay. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bay’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bay

11,222 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)71%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Bay residents hold

11,558 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month43%

−20%

Jobs based in Bay, 2011 → 2021: 14,033 → 11,222. 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.