Work & commute · West Traverse

Work & commute in West Traverse, MI

Most working residents leave West Traverse for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Petoskey (18%), Bear Creek (9%) and Harbor Springs (8%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

26 of 624 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

15%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 598 West Traverse residents head out of town to work, 26 work right here, and 356 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Traverse.

598live here, work elsewhere

26live and work here

356work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Traverse goes to work

Petoskey6 mi away

18%110

Bear Creek9.4 mi away

9%55

Harbor Springs2.8 mi away

8%49

Little Traverse6.4 mi away

8%48

Pleasantview7.6 mi away

5%34

Friendship4.4 mi away

5%34

West Traverse (in town)right here

4%26

Boyne Valley22.5 mi away

3%21

Resort8.3 mi away

2%15

Traverse City55.3 mi away

2%13

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%219

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

How far

How far West Traverse commutes

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

59%

12%

23%

59%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

23%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Traverse is a commuter town

0.61jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in West Traverse are

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

Jobs based in West Traverse

382 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)48%

Trade, transport & utilities3%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs West Traverse residents hold

624 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month50%

+28%

Jobs based in West Traverse, 2011 → 2021: 298 → 382. 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.