Work & commute · Ironwood

Work & commute in Ironwood, MI

About one in 3 of Ironwood’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Hurley (8%), Bessemer (7%) and Ironwood (5%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

33%

614 of 1,879 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 1,265 Ironwood residents head out of town to work, 614 work right here, and 1,300 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ironwood.

1,265live here, work elsewhere

614live and work here

1,300work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ironwood goes to work

Ironwood (in town)right here

33%614

Hurley, WI2.8 mi away

8%155

Bessemer5.1 mi away

7%126

Ironwood7.5 mi away

5%89

Bessemer11.6 mi away

4%68

Iron Mountain109 mi away

3%64

Wakefield10.5 mi away

3%49

Wakefield14.5 mi away

2%38

Ashland, WI35.5 mi away

2%37

Watersmeet46.9 mi away

2%35

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%604

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

How far

How far Ironwood commutes

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

58%

25%

58%Under 10 mi

7%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

25%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ironwood is balanced between jobs and homes

1.02jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.02 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ironwood are

1,914 jobs are based in Ironwood. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ironwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ironwood

1,914 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities36%

Services (health, schools, offices…)39%

$1,250 a month or less25%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month33%

Jobs Ironwood residents hold

1,879 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less24%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month36%

−28%

Jobs based in Ironwood, 2011 → 2021: 2,671 → 1,914. 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.