Bear Lake Township has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Only 1% stay in Bear Lake Township for work; outside it, Kalkaska Township is the main destination (24%, 16 miles). Bear Lake Township has 44 jobs; 201 of its residents have a job. A typical one-way commute lasts 25 minutes, next to 24 for Michigan and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Bear Lake Township in brief
Bear Lake Township and Kalkaska Township trade workers both ways
Kalkaska Township is the top workplace for Bear Lake Township residents (24%) and also where the most people who work in Bear Lake Township come from (20% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Bear Lake Township is a place people come home to
There are 44 jobs based in Bear Lake Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
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 201 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Out of Bear Lake Township to work: where people go
Where Bear Lake Township clocks in
10% of workers
7% 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.
How many people are in Bear Lake Township by day
On a workday 198 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 41 people come in from elsewhere.
About 540 people are in Bear Lake Township on a workday afternoon, 22% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
Bear Lake Township is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bear Lake Township, 2011 → 2021: 14 → 44. 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 Bear Lake Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes each way, about the MI average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bear Lake Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 232 commuters (the 8% 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 Bear Lake Township, by distance
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.
Around Bear Lake Township: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Excelsior Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bear Lake Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Lake Township | – | — | — | 25 min | $68,889 |
| Frederic Township | under 2% | C− | B | 37 min | $65,333 |
| Grayling Township | under 2% | D | B− | 25 min | $65,127 |
| Oliver Township | under 2% | — | — | 37 min | — |
| Blue Lake Township | under 2% | — | — | 48 min | — |
| Excelsior Township | 2% | C− | D | 31 min | $66,250 |
| Garfield Township | under 2% | D | D− | 40 min | $70,417 |
Same-state neighbors only. Oliver Township and Blue Lake Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bear Lake Township’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Bear Lake Township: questions
What is the median household income in Bear Lake Township?
$68,889 (±$8,440) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bear Lake Township?
4.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bear Lake Township?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bear Lake Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kalkaska Township (24%, 16 mi), Traverse City (10%, 35 mi), Garfield Township (7%, 36 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Bear Lake Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bear Lake Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bear Lake Township
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.