Work & commute · Otsego Lake

Work & commute in Otsego Lake, MI

Most working residents leave Otsego Lake for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Gaylord (31%), Bagley (5%) and Livingston (4%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10 of 1,054 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,044 Otsego Lake residents head out of town to work, 10 work right here, and 85 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Otsego Lake.

1,044live here, work elsewhere

10live and work here

85work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Otsego Lake goes to work

Gaylord7.9 mi away

31%322

Bagley4.6 mi away

5%55

Livingston11.8 mi away

4%44

Petoskey35.8 mi away

3%31

Traverse City46.9 mi away

3%29

Garfield48.8 mi away

2%26

Grayling15.8 mi away

2%21

Dover12.2 mi away

2%19

Boyne Valley19.5 mi away

2%18

Grayling17.2 mi away

2%17

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%472

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

How far

How far Otsego Lake commutes

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

37%

17%

16%

30%

37%Under 10 mi

17%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

30%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Otsego Lake is a commuter town

0.09jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Otsego Lake are

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

Jobs based in Otsego Lake

95 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)54%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)26%

$1,250 a month or less7%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month72%

Jobs Otsego Lake residents hold

1,054 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month36%

Over $3,333 a month48%

+70%

Jobs based in Otsego Lake, 2011 → 2021: 56 → 95. 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.