Work & commute · Chelsea

Work & commute in Chelsea, MI

Most working residents leave Chelsea for work: only 17% work in town. The top destinations are Ann Arbor (24%), Scio (4%) and Pittsfield (4%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

17%

383 of 2,307 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

26%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,924 Chelsea residents head out of town to work, 383 work right here, and 4,783 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Chelsea.

1,924live here, work elsewhere

383live and work here

4,783work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Chelsea goes to work

Ann Arbor14.9 mi away

24%554

Chelsea (in town)right here

17%383

Scio9 mi away

4%95

Pittsfield17.1 mi away

4%86

Detroit47.1 mi away

3%71

Ann Arbor16.8 mi away

3%65

Dexter7.2 mi away

2%38

Livonia33.6 mi away

2%38

Farmington Hills35 mi away

2%36

Saline15.6 mi away

1%33

Everywhere elseother towns and states

39%908

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

How far

How far Chelsea commutes

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

23%

43%

24%

23%Under 10 mi

43%10–24 mi

24%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Chelsea is a job hub

2.24jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Chelsea are

5,166 jobs are based in Chelsea. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Chelsea’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Chelsea

5,166 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month51%

Jobs Chelsea residents hold

2,307 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)72%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+10%

Jobs based in Chelsea, 2011 → 2021: 4,690 → 5,166. 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.