Work & commute · West Branch

Work & commute in West Branch, MI

About one in 4 of West Branch’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are West Branch (13%), Saginaw (2%) and Ogemaw (2%). Half commute less than 25 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

23%

186 of 801 working residents

Typical commute

25 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 615 West Branch residents head out of town to work, 186 work right here, and 2,002 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Branch.

615live here, work elsewhere

186live and work here

2,002work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Branch goes to work

West Branch (in town)right here

23%186

West Branch3.7 mi away

13%103

Saginaw57.9 mi away

2%17

Ogemaw5.9 mi away

2%15

Horton5.9 mi away

2%13

Midland44.8 mi away

1%12

Alpena67.7 mi away

1%11

Grand Rapids115.2 mi away

1%11

Churchill8.4 mi away

1%10

Ypsilanti145.9 mi away

1%10

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%413

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

How far

How far West Branch commutes

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

43%

10%

40%

43%Under 10 mi

8%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

40%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Branch is a job hub

2.73jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in West Branch are

2,188 jobs are based in West Branch. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Branch’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Branch

2,188 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)76%

$1,250 a month or less19%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month42%

Jobs West Branch residents hold

801 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)16%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month42%

−14%

Jobs based in West Branch, 2011 → 2021: 2,551 → 2,188. 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.