Work & commute · Ford River

Work & commute in Ford River, MI

Most working residents leave Ford River for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Escanaba (34%), Harris (9%) and Wells (8%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10 of 718 working residents

Typical commute

10 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 708 Ford River residents head out of town to work, 10 work right here, and 75 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ford River.

708live here, work elsewhere

10live and work here

75work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ford River goes to work

Escanaba9 mi away

34%245

Harris13.3 mi away

9%62

Wells9 mi away

8%61

Escanaba13.8 mi away

5%37

Bark River5.3 mi away

5%33

Gladstone16.3 mi away

4%31

Marquette62.4 mi away

4%31

Spalding19.7 mi away

3%22

Iron Mountain42.3 mi away

2%12

Ford River (in town)right here

1%10

Everywhere elseother towns and states

24%174

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

How far

How far Ford River commutes

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

49%

23%

49%Under 10 mi

23%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ford River is a commuter town

0.12jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Ford River are

85 jobs are based in Ford River. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ford River’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ford River

85 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)65%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)25%

$1,250 a month or less54%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month14%

Jobs Ford River residents hold

718 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month52%

−13%

Jobs based in Ford River, 2011 → 2021: 98 → 85. 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.