Work & commute · Sylvan

Work & commute in Sylvan, MI

Most working residents leave Sylvan for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Evart (17%), Cadillac (6%) and Reed City (5%). Half commute less than 24 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

5 of 337 working residents

Typical commute

24 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 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 332 Sylvan residents head out of town to work, 5 work right here, and 82 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Sylvan.

332live here, work elsewhere

5live and work here

82work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Sylvan goes to work

Evart7.3 mi away

17%57

Cadillac25.8 mi away

6%19

Reed City19 mi away

5%16

Grand Rapids72.5 mi away

4%14

Marion12.2 mi away

4%13

McBain18.1 mi away

2%8

Haring28.2 mi away

2%7

Big Rapids23.9 mi away

2%6

Orient4.6 mi away

2%6

Osceola6.1 mi away

1%5

Everywhere elseother towns and states

55%186

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

How far

How far Sylvan commutes

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

26%

39%

26%Under 10 mi

26%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

39%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Sylvan is a commuter town

0.26jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Sylvan are

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

Jobs based in Sylvan

87 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities5%

Services (health, schools, offices…)95%

$1,250 a month or less29%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month32%

Jobs Sylvan residents hold

337 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month45%

+383%

Jobs based in Sylvan, 2011 → 2021: 18 → 87. 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.