Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 3.0Jobs and the daily commute in Benzonia
Only 3% stay in Benzonia for work; outside it, Frankfort is the main destination (13%, 7 miles). The average commute takes 21 minutes each way (Michigan 24, U.S. 26). 148 jobs are based in Benzonia, against 150 working residents.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Benzonia
On a workday 146 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 144 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.99 per resident).
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 Benzonia work
Where Benzonia clocks in
13% of workers
8% 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 Benzonia’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Benzonia, 2011 → 2021: 96 → 148. 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 Benzonia’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Benzonia: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Benzonia workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 301 commuters (the 15% 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.
Where in the region Benzonia works
About 35% 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 Benzonia compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Benzonia workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzonia | – | — | — | 21 min | $61,875 |
| Beulah | under 2% | — | — | 13 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Beulah: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Benzonia’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 Benzonia: questions
What is the median household income in Benzonia?
$61,875 (±$10,726) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Benzonia?
14.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Benzonia?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Benzonia work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Frankfort (13%, 7 mi), Benzonia Township (13%, 3 mi), Traverse City (8%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Benzonia without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Benzonia, from the people who make the trip.
More of Benzonia
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.