Work & commute · Garfield

Work & commute in Garfield, MI

Most working residents leave Garfield for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Traverse City (21%), Kalkaska (15%) and Garfield (10%). Half commute less than 26 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1 of 357 working residents

Typical commute

26 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

40 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

29%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 356 Garfield residents head out of town to work, 1 work right here, and 22 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Garfield.

356live here, work elsewhere

1live and work here

22work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Garfield goes to work

Traverse City31.4 mi away

21%76

Kalkaska15.5 mi away

15%53

Garfield32 mi away

10%34

East Bay25.6 mi away

3%12

Boardman13.1 mi away

3%11

Fife Lake18 mi away

3%11

Suttons Bay42.5 mi away

3%10

Grand Rapids114.5 mi away

2%8

Kentwood118.8 mi away

2%7

Cadillac29.2 mi away

2%6

Everywhere elseother towns and states

36%129

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

How far

How far Garfield commutes

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

41%

37%

18%

4%Under 10 mi

41%10–24 mi

37%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Garfield is a commuter town

0.06jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Garfield are

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

Jobs based in Garfield

23 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities48%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less30%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month39%

Jobs Garfield residents hold

357 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month49%

+92%

Jobs based in Garfield, 2011 → 2021: 12 → 23. 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.