Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Jobs and earnings in Alanson, and the trip to work
Only 4% work in Alanson itself; outside it, Petoskey draws the most (19%, 10 miles). 4% of workers work from home (Michigan 14%). A typical one-way commute lasts 19 minutes (Michigan 24, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Alanson and work: the main findings
Few Alanson workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Alanson are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; 2021 is the newest year Michigan has published; with 303 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of Michigan
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Alanson workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 381 commuters (the 4% 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.
In and out of Alanson on a workday
On a workday 291 residents head out to work, 12 work right here, and 167 people come in from elsewhere.
About 660 people are in Alanson on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.59 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.
Where people from Alanson work
Where Alanson clocks in
19% of workers
10% of workersLines 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.
Making and building: 30% of jobs based in Alanson
179 jobs are based in Alanson.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Alanson, 2011 → 2021: 175 → 179. 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 Alanson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Alanson’s commute, mile by mile
About 23% 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.
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.
Jobs and commuting in Alanson: questions
What is the median household income in Alanson?
$65,139 (±$16,704) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Alanson?
15.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Alanson?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Alanson work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Petoskey (19%, 10 mi), Bear Creek Township (10%, 8 mi), Little Traverse Township (9%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Alanson without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Alanson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Alanson
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.