Work & commute · China

Work & commute in China, MI

Most working residents leave China for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Detroit (7%), St. Clair (5%) and Marine City (4%). Half commute less than 26 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

86 of 1,573 working residents

Typical commute

26 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 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 1,487 China residents head out of town to work, 86 work right here, and 2,203 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in China.

1,487live here, work elsewhere

86live and work here

2,203work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where China goes to work

Detroit38.5 mi away

7%106

China (in town)right here

5%86

St. Clair5.1 mi away

5%73

Marine City5 mi away

4%70

Port Huron16.6 mi away

4%69

Clinton22 mi away

4%69

Warren30.4 mi away

3%52

Chesterfield14 mi away

3%48

Troy32.4 mi away

3%45

Sterling Heights27.2 mi away

3%42

Everywhere elseother towns and states

58%913

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

How far

How far China commutes

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

23%

25%

36%

16%

23%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

36%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

China is balanced between jobs and homes

1.46jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.46 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in China are

2,289 jobs are based in China. Here is what they are, next to the jobs China’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in China

2,289 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)82%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)7%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month72%

Jobs China residents hold

1,573 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+210%

Jobs based in China, 2011 → 2021: 738 → 2,289. 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.