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Work & commute in West Monroe · A commuter town

97% of West Monroe’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave West Monroe for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Monroe (15%), Monroe (9%) and Frenchtown (7%). Half commute less than 22 miles.

Work in town
3%
36 of 1,295 working residents
Typical commute
22 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
25 min
More than MI (24 min)
Work from home
1%
Less than MI (14%)
Jobs based here
751
A commuter town

What kind of work town is West Monroe?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

15% of working residents work in Monroe

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Monroe: 190 residents work here (15%)Dearborn: 34 residents work here (3%)Ann Arbor: 52 residents work here (4%)Detroit: 44 residents work here (3%)Toledo: 48 residents work here (4%)RaisinvilleHuron: 25 residents work here (2%)Monroe: 115 residents work here (9%)La SalleAsh: 28 residents work here (2%)Bedford: 31 residents work here (2%)ErieExeterFrenchtown: 91 residents work here (7%)West MonroeMonroeMonroeFrenchtownAnn ArborToledoDetroitWest Monroe
1
Monroe2.4 mi away
15%190
2
Monroe1.5 mi away
9%115
3
Frenchtown5 mi away
7%91
4
Ann Arbor29.4 mi away
4%52
5
Toledo, OH18.9 mi away
4%48
6
Detroit36.5 mi away
3%44
7
Dearborn29.8 mi away
3%34
8
Bedford12.9 mi away
2%31
9
Ash10.4 mi away
2%28
10
Huron16.3 mi away
2%25
Everywhere elseother towns and states
49%637
The top trips

Where West Monroe clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

The jobs

West Monroe makes things: 44% of its jobs are in goods

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

Jobs based in West MonroeJobs West Monroe residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms44%22%
Trade, transport & utilities8%22%
Services: health, schools, offices48%55%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less18%19%
$1,251–$3,333 a month35%32%
Over $3,333 a month47%50%

Who does it

29 or younger22%27%
30 to 5452%54%
55 and older26%19%
+35%

Jobs based in West Monroe, 2011 → 2021: 558 → 751. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2021.

Next door

31% of West Monroe works in a bordering town

The biggest share goes to Monroe (15%). Darker towns draw more of West Monroe’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

Day and night

West Monroe quiets down on a workday

On a workday 1,259 residents head out to work, 36 work right here, and 715 people come in from elsewhere.

1,259live here, work elsewhere
36live and work here
715work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night2,700
Workday2,200
2,700live here− 1,300head out to work+ 720come in to work= 2,200on a workday

About 2,200 people are in West Monroe on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.58jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.

How far

Half of West Monroe commutes less than 22 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi45 miMonroe: 15% · 2.4 miMonroe: 9% · 1.5 miFrenchtown: 7% · 5 miAnn Arbor: 4% · 29.4 miToledo: 4% · 18.9 miDetroit: 3% · 36.5 miDearborn: 3% · 29.8 miBedford: 2% · 12.9 miAsh: 2% · 10.4 miHuron: 2% · 16.3 miMonroe 15%Monroe 9%Frenchtown 7%Ann Arbor 4%Toledo 4%West Monroe
West MonroeTop destinations (size = commuters)
33%Under 10 mi422 residents
24%10–24 mi315 residents
31%25–50 mi397 residents
12%Over 50 mi160 residents

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2021.

Time on the road

About 25 minutes each way, about the MI average

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
192 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

West Monroe25 min
Michigan24 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
1%

of West Monroe workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2021. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of West Monroe

West Monroe home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from West Monroe, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
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Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2021, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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