Work & commute · Kalkaska

Work & commute in Kalkaska, MI

About one in 3 of Kalkaska’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Traverse City (13%), Garfield (6%) and Suttons Bay (3%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

29%

552 of 1,910 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 1,358 Kalkaska residents head out of town to work, 552 work right here, and 2,581 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kalkaska.

1,358live here, work elsewhere

552live and work here

2,581work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Kalkaska goes to work

Kalkaska (in town)right here

29%552

Traverse City19.1 mi away

13%256

Garfield20.6 mi away

6%113

Suttons Bay27.3 mi away

3%57

East Bay14.8 mi away

3%48

Rapid River6.2 mi away

2%42

Acme12.7 mi away

2%39

Whitewater8.8 mi away

2%32

Clearwater5.8 mi away

1%26

Gaylord32.6 mi away

1%24

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%721

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

How far

How far Kalkaska commutes

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

35%

33%

14%

19%

35%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Kalkaska is a job hub

1.64jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Kalkaska are

3,133 jobs are based in Kalkaska. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Kalkaska’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Kalkaska

3,133 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Kalkaska residents hold

1,910 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month40%

Over $3,333 a month46%

+25%

Jobs based in Kalkaska, 2011 → 2021: 2,507 → 3,133. 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.