Work & commute · Watertown

Work & commute in Watertown, MI

Most working residents leave Watertown for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Sandusky (34%), Croswell (3%) and Custer (3%). Half commute less than 13 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

25 of 476 working residents

Typical commute

13 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 451 Watertown residents head out of town to work, 25 work right here, and 479 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Watertown.

451live here, work elsewhere

25live and work here

479work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Watertown goes to work

Sandusky3.8 mi away

34%161

Watertown (in town)right here

5%25

Croswell11.4 mi away

3%13

Custer7 mi away

3%13

Marion14.1 mi away

2%11

Troy57.1 mi away

2%9

Marlette14.4 mi away

2%8

Lansing99.8 mi away

2%8

Elk6.3 mi away

2%8

Midland73.9 mi away

1%7

Everywhere elseother towns and states

45%213

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

How far

How far Watertown commutes

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

46%

13%

11%

30%

46%Under 10 mi

13%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

30%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Watertown is balanced between jobs and homes

1.06jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.06 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Watertown are

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

Jobs based in Watertown

504 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)1%

Trade, transport & utilities50%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month62%

Jobs Watertown residents hold

476 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less21%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month45%

−18%

Jobs based in Watertown, 2011 → 2021: 614 → 504. 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.