Work & commute · Dalton

Work & commute in Dalton, MI

Most working residents leave Dalton for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Muskegon (18%), Whitehall (8%) and Norton Shores (7%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

136 of 4,092 working residents

Typical commute

13 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 3,956 Dalton residents head out of town to work, 136 work right here, and 970 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Dalton.

3,956live here, work elsewhere

136live and work here

970work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Dalton goes to work

Muskegon8.4 mi away

18%757

Whitehall6.8 mi away

8%327

Norton Shores12.3 mi away

7%271

Muskegon6.4 mi away

5%215

Grand Rapids39.2 mi away

4%170

Dalton (in town)right here

3%136

Grand Haven20.1 mi away

3%131

Muskegon Heights10 mi away

3%123

Grand Haven24.1 mi away

2%89

Spring Lake19.5 mi away

2%82

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%1,791

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

How far

How far Dalton commutes

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

35%

31%

19%

14%

35%Under 10 mi

31%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Dalton is a commuter town

0.27jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Dalton are

1,106 jobs are based in Dalton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Dalton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Dalton

1,106 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)60%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)31%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Dalton residents hold

4,092 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)36%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month56%

+154%

Jobs based in Dalton, 2011 → 2021: 435 → 1,106. 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.