Work & commute · Houghton

Work & commute in Houghton, MI

41% of Houghton’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Hancock (10%), Portage (6%) and Marquette (3%). Half commute less than 2 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

41%

715 of 1,744 working residents

Typical commute

2 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

11 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,029 Houghton residents head out of town to work, 715 work right here, and 3,424 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Houghton.

1,029live here, work elsewhere

715live and work here

3,424work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Houghton goes to work

Houghton (in town)right here

41%715

Hancock2.2 mi away

10%181

Portage10.4 mi away

6%99

Marquette67.6 mi away

3%57

Calumet11.6 mi away

3%52

Adams6.7 mi away

3%48

Baraga25.3 mi away

2%30

Iron Mountain92 mi away

1%22

Franklin3.6 mi away

1%20

Chocolay76.6 mi away

1%16

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%504

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

How far

How far Houghton commutes

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

65%

31%

65%Under 10 mi

4%10–24 mi

1%25–50 mi

31%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Houghton is a job hub

2.37jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Houghton are

4,139 jobs are based in Houghton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Houghton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Houghton

4,139 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)1%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)80%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Houghton residents hold

1,744 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month51%

−19%

Jobs based in Houghton, 2011 → 2021: 5,127 → 4,139. 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.