Work & commute · Rapid River

Work & commute in Rapid River, MI

Most working residents leave Rapid River for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Kalkaska (28%), Traverse City (14%) and Garfield (6%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16 of 503 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 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 487 Rapid River residents head out of town to work, 16 work right here, and 288 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Rapid River.

487live here, work elsewhere

16live and work here

288work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Rapid River goes to work

Kalkaska6.2 mi away

28%141

Traverse City22.4 mi away

14%70

Garfield24.3 mi away

6%30

Suttons Bay26.6 mi away

4%21

Kearney12.5 mi away

3%16

Rapid River (in town)right here

3%16

Acme15.2 mi away

2%9

Whitewater12.2 mi away

2%9

Clearwater5.7 mi away

2%8

East Bay19.4 mi away

2%8

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%175

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

How far

How far Rapid River commutes

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

35%

32%

13%

19%

35%Under 10 mi

32%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Rapid River is a commuter town

0.60jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Rapid River are

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

Jobs based in Rapid River

304 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)76%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)10%

$1,250 a month or less9%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs Rapid River residents hold

503 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month45%

+76%

Jobs based in Rapid River, 2011 → 2021: 173 → 304. 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.