Work & commute · Traverse

Work & commute in Traverse, MI

45% of Traverse’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Garfield (14%), East Bay (3%) and Elmwood (2%). Half commute less than 3 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

45%

2,724 of 6,054 working residents

Typical commute

3 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

19%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 3,330 Traverse residents head out of town to work, 2,724 work right here, and 21,595 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Traverse.

3,330live here, work elsewhere

2,724live and work here

21,595work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Traverse goes to work

Traverse City (in town)right here

45%2,724

Garfield2.5 mi away

14%859

East Bay6 mi away

3%159

Elmwood5.7 mi away

2%121

Suttons Bay16.7 mi away

2%108

Grand Rapids123.9 mi away

2%102

Blair8.7 mi away

2%98

Peninsula10.2 mi away

1%72

Green Lake10.5 mi away

1%67

Long Lake7.7 mi away

1%50

Everywhere elseother towns and states

28%1,694

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

How far

How far Traverse commutes

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

68%

22%

68%Under 10 mi

7%10–24 mi

3%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Traverse is a job hub

4.02jobs per working resident

A job hub

4.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Traverse are

24,319 jobs are based in Traverse. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Traverse’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Traverse

24,319 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)76%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Traverse residents hold

6,054 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month53%

+27%

Jobs based in Traverse, 2011 → 2021: 19,170 → 24,319. 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.