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Jobs & commute in Akron

With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Akron works elsewhere

5% of workers work from home, where Michigan as a whole has 14%. Akron has 50 jobs, against 120 working residents. Only 2% work in Akron; the top destination outside it is Caro (9%, 8 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

The daily flow of workers through Akron

On a workday 117 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 47 people come in from elsewhere.

117live here, work elsewhere
3live and work here
47work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night370
Workday300
370live here− 120head out to work+ 47come in to work= 300on a workday

About 300 people are in Akron on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.42jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

The commute map

The places Akron commutes to

AkronEssexville: 3 residents work here (3%)Caro: 11 residents work here (9%)Frankenmuth: 3 residents work here (3%)Bay City: 3 residents work here (3%)Saginaw: 4 residents work here (3%)MidlandWinsor Township: 6 residents work here (5%)Saginaw Township: 3 residents work here (3%)Fairgrove TownshipElmwood TownshipGilford TownshipDenmark TownshipMonitor Township: 4 residents work here (3%)Sebewaing Township: 10 residents work here (8%)Akron Township: 8 residents work here (7%)Columbia TownshipHampton TownshipCaroSebewaing TownshipAkron TownshipWinsor TownshipSaginawMonitor TownshipAkron
1
Caro7.8 mi away
9%11
2
Sebewaing Township11.7 mi away
8%10
3
Akron Township4.5 mi away
7%8
4
Winsor Township20.1 mi away
5%6
5
Saginaw24.4 mi away
3%4
63%4
7
Essexville16.7 mi away
3%3
8
Frankenmuth19.7 mi away
3%3
9
Bay City18.8 mi away
3%3
10
Saginaw Township26.7 mi away
3%3
Everywhere elseother towns and states
54%65
The top trips

Where Akron clocks in

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

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

The jobs

The kinds of work in Akron

Jobs based in AkronJobs Akron residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms12%27%
Trade, transport & utilities18%26%
Services: health, schools, offices70%48%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less32%12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month26%43%
Over $3,333 a month42%46%

Who does it

29 or younger20%22%
30 to 5460%56%
55 and older20%23%
+117%

Jobs based in Akron, 2011 → 2021: 23 → 50. 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.

Here is what they are, next to the jobs Akron’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Akron’s commute takes about 36 minutes

A year of commuting
273 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.4 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Akron36 min
Michigan24 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
5%

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

About 1 in 10
How Akron gets to work
86%Drive alone
9%Carpool
5%Walk

Share of the 132 commuters (the 5% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.

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

How far

The commute from Akron, by distance

10 mi25 mi30 miCaro: 9% · 7.8 miSebewaing Township: 8% · 11.7 miAkron Township: 7% · 4.5 miWinsor Township: 5% · 20.1 miSaginaw: 3% · 24.4 miMonitor Township: 3% · 24 miEssexville: 3% · 16.7 miFrankenmuth: 3% · 19.7 miBay City: 3% · 18.8 miSaginaw Township: 3% · 26.7 miCaro 9%Sebewaing Township 8%Akron Township 7%Winsor Township 5%Saginaw 3%Akron
AkronTop destinations (size = commuters)
25%Under 10 mi30 residents
43%10–24 mi51 residents
12%25–50 mi14 residents
21%Over 50 mi25 residents

About 21% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

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

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

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
  • Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Akron: questions

What is the median household income in Akron?

$50,179 (±$9,732) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Akron?

27.6%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Akron?

36 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Akron work?

2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Caro (9%, 8 mi), Sebewaing Township (8%, 12 mi), Akron Township (7%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).

Can you get around Akron without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Akron, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Akron

Akron home →

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.