Work & commute · Blue Lake

Work & commute in Blue Lake, MI

Most working residents leave Blue Lake for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Kalkaska (11%), Traverse City (9%) and Garfield (8%). Half commute less than 34 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1 of 108 working residents

Typical commute

34 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

48 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 107 Blue Lake residents head out of town to work, 1 work right here, and 25 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Blue Lake.

107live here, work elsewhere

1live and work here

25work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Blue Lake goes to work

Kalkaska15.9 mi away

11%12

Traverse City34.4 mi away

9%10

Garfield36.1 mi away

8%9

Suttons Bay37.9 mi away

4%4

Boardman20.8 mi away

4%4

Excelsior8.9 mi away

4%4

Mancelona6.8 mi away

4%4

Gaylord18.2 mi away

3%3

Kentwood137.4 mi away

3%3

Grayling15.9 mi away

3%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%52

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

How far

How far Blue Lake commutes

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

33%

34%

26%

7%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

34%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Blue Lake is a commuter town

0.24jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.24 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Blue Lake are

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

Jobs based in Blue Lake

26 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities42%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less27%

$1,251–$3,333 a month8%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Blue Lake residents hold

108 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less26%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month39%

−4%

Jobs based in Blue Lake, 2011 → 2021: 27 → 26. 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.