Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, photographer not specified or unknown · Public domainMaking a living in Big Bay
There are 138 jobs in Big Bay; 81 of its residents have a job. Only 7% work in Big Bay; the top destination outside it is Marquette (31%, 24 miles). Working residents average 21 minutes each way, where Michigan has 24 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Big Bay on a workday afternoon
On a workday 75 residents head out to work, 6 work right here, and 132 people come in from elsewhere.
About 360 people are in Big Bay on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
1.7 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.
Commuting in to Big Bay: where workers come from
Where Big Bay clocks in
31% 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.
62% of the jobs in Big Bay make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Bay, 2011 → 2021: 23 → 138. 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 Big Bay’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 21 minutes in Big Bay
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Big Bay workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 66 commuters (the 13% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Big Bay
About 36% 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 Big Bay: questions
What is the median household income in Big Bay?
$51,953 (±$17,016) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Bay?
21.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Big Bay?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Big Bay work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marquette (31%, 24 mi), Powell Township (12%, 7 mi), Ishpeming Township (7%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Big Bay 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 Big Bay, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Bay
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.