Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Baraga are lower than in 94% of U.S. towns
17.2% of residents live below the poverty line, against 13.2% across Michigan. The two grades for Baraga are D− for jobs and income and B− for walkability. For 2% of workers, the job is at home, against 14% across Michigan.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Baraga: the gist
Baraga has far more jobs than workers
Baraga has 1,560 jobs, 3.4 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 2,800 people are in town, 63% more than the 1,700 who live here. Day and night ↓
44% of Baraga works in Baraga Township
204 working residents, 44%, have their main job in Baraga Township, 4.8 miles away. That’s more than work in Baraga itself. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Baraga are quick
The average trip to work takes 12 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 92 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 464 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Income, poverty and work: Baraga’s grade explained
On income, poverty and job access, Baraga is better than 4% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Baraga’s grade.
Unemployment (1.5%) is left out: Baraga’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is two years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Baraga could be anywhere from D− to D.
In and out of Baraga on a workday
On a workday 270 residents head out to work, 194 work right here, and 1,366 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,800 people are in Baraga on a workday afternoon, 63% more than live here.
3.4 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.
The daily trip into Baraga
Where Baraga clocks in
44% of workers
12% of workers
3% 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.
About 12 minutes each way for Baraga’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Baraga workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 446 commuters (the 2% 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.
Inside Baraga’s 1,560 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Baraga, 2011 → 2021: 1,822 → 1,560. 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 Baraga’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Baraga, by distance
About 29% 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.
Getting around Baraga: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Baraga is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.8% across Michigan.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 453 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 19.3% of Baraga households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Baraga’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Baraga compares with U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 104 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 218 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 263 | Sylvan Lake MI | 1,685 | $106K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,621 | Albion IL | 1,843 | $57K | 27.8% | 10.2% | 33% | D− |
| 5,622 | Humboldt KS | 1,807 | $48K | 24.0% | 19.0% | 19% | D− |
| 5,623 | Baraga MI | 1,746 | $44K | 17.2% | 1.5% | 42% | D− |
| 5,624 | Loving NM | 1,391 | $44K | 20.1% | 16.2% | 9% | D− |
| 5,625 | Robbins NC | 1,305 | $53K | 22.1% | 0.7% | 4% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 6,085 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Baraga, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
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 Baraga: questions
What is the median household income in Baraga?
$43,558 (±$6,953) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Baraga?
17.2%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Baraga?
12 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Baraga work?
42% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Baraga Township (44%, 5 mi), L'Anse Township (12%, 10 mi), Houghton (3%, 23 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Baraga walkable?
Baraga is more walkable than 48% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Baraga without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Baraga, from the people who make the trip.
More of Baraga
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.