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Work & commute · South Arm

Work & commute in South Arm, MI

Most working residents leave South Arm for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are East Jordan (21%), Charlevoix (6%) and Petoskey (6%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times
Work in town
4%
31 of 720 working residents
Typical commute
14 mi
Half commute less than this, straight-line
Average commute time
24 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 689 South Arm residents head out of town to work, 31 work right here, and 684 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in South Arm.

689live here, work elsewhere
31live and work here
684work here, live elsewhere
Leave for workStayCome in
The map

Where South Arm goes to work

CharlevoixEast JordanBoyne CityGaylordPetoskeyTraverse CityBay CityMidlandEvelineWilsonBanksBear CreekSouth ArmCharlevoixEchoHamptonMarionNorwoodEast JordanCharlevoixPetoskeyBoyne CityTraverse CityGaylordCharlevoixBear CreekNorwoodSouth Arm
1
East Jordan1.5 mi away
21%151
2
Charlevoix11.3 mi away
6%44
3
Petoskey15.8 mi away
6%44
4
Boyne City8.2 mi away
6%41
5
South Arm (in town)right here
4%31
6
Traverse City35.4 mi away
3%20
7
Gaylord25.7 mi away
3%19
8
Charlevoix11.7 mi away
3%18
9
Bear Creek18.2 mi away
2%15
10
Norwood11.6 mi away
2%14
Everywhere elseother towns and states
45%323

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

How far

How far South Arm commutes

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

36%Under 10 mi
31%10–24 mi
9%25–50 mi
24%Over 50 mi
Job hub or commuter town?

South Arm is balanced between jobs and homes

0.99jobs per working resident
Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.99 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in South Arm are

715 jobs are based in South Arm. Here is what they are, next to the jobs South Arm’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in South Arm

715 jobs
Goods (factories, building, farms)78%
Trade, transport & utilities17%
Services (health, schools, offices…)4%
$1,250 a month or less11%
$1,251–$3,333 a month12%
Over $3,333 a month78%

Jobs South Arm residents hold

720 working residents
Goods (factories, building, farms)31%
Trade, transport & utilities17%
Services (health, schools, offices…)52%
$1,250 a month or less16%
$1,251–$3,333 a month33%
Over $3,333 a month51%
+1092%

Jobs based in South Arm, 2011 → 2021: 60 → 715. 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.

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Where to, neighbor?

You’re in South Arm, MICharlevoix CountyView boundary

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South Arm is your selected town. The feed includes posts assigned to this town, not a distance radius or ZIP code.

Neighborhoods narrow the feed further, while townwide announcements, events, and issues remain visible.

Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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