There are 2.2 jobs in Alden for every working resident, and 75 people commute in
Only 6% work in Alden; the top destination outside it is Traverse City (17%, 18 miles). There are 77 jobs in Alden for 35 working residents. 0% of workers have no commute at all, against 14% across Michigan.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who leaves Alden for work, and who comes in
On a workday 33 residents head out to work and 2 work right here.
About 180 people are in Alden on a workday afternoon, 32% more than live here.
2.2 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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 the people who work in Alden live
Where Alden clocks in
17% of workers
9% 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.
What Alden’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Alden, 2011 → 2021: 3 → 77. 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 Alden’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Alden spends getting to work: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Alden workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 83 commuters (the 0% 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.
The commute from Alden, by distance
About 20% 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 Alden: questions
What is the median household income in Alden?
$56,250 (±$51,697) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Alden?
0.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Alden?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Alden work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Traverse City (17%, 18 mi), Kearney Township (9%, 10 mi), Mancelona Township (9%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Alden without a car?
0% 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 Alden, from the people who make the trip.
More of Alden
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.