Work & commute · Torch Lake

Work & commute in Torch Lake, MI

Most working residents leave Torch Lake for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Traverse City (12%), Banks (9%) and Charlevoix (8%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10 of 400 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

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 390 Torch Lake residents head out of town to work, 10 work right here, and 121 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Torch Lake.

390live here, work elsewhere

10live and work here

121work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Torch Lake goes to work

Traverse City23.6 mi away

12%46

Banks8.9 mi away

9%35

Charlevoix19.3 mi away

8%32

Elk Rapids10.5 mi away

7%29

Garfield26.1 mi away

4%17

Petoskey27.6 mi away

4%14

East Jordan13.4 mi away

3%13

Charlevoix18.9 mi away

3%11

Central Lake4 mi away

3%11

Milton8.8 mi away

3%10

Everywhere elseother towns and states

46%182

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

How far

How far Torch Lake commutes

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

19%

43%

15%

23%

19%Under 10 mi

43%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Torch Lake is a commuter town

0.33jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Torch Lake are

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

Jobs based in Torch Lake

131 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities4%

Services (health, schools, offices…)88%

$1,250 a month or less45%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month32%

Jobs Torch Lake residents hold

400 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month51%

−6%

Jobs based in Torch Lake, 2011 → 2021: 139 → 131. 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.