Italian Society Duke of Abruzzi Hall · Photo: Gpackers4460 · CC BY-SA 3.0Making a living in Caspian
The average commute, 24 minutes each way, matches the Michigan norm. There are 169 jobs in Caspian; 233 of its residents have a job. 8% of workers have no commute at all, next to 14% for Michigan as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Caspian, in a few figures
32% of working residents work in Iron River
Where Caspian clocks in
32% of workers
9% of workers
6% 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.
Caspian on a workday afternoon
On a workday 220 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 156 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.
0.73 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Jobs in Caspian: what the 169 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Caspian, 2011 → 2021: 34 → 169. 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 Caspian’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Caspian’s commute takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Caspian workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 189 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 distance from Caspian to work
About 24% 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.
Work next door: 32% of Caspian’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Caspian workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caspian | – | — | — | 24 min | $32,794 |
| Stambaugh Township | under 2% | C+ | C | 26 min | $70,673 |
| Gaastra | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Iron River | 32% | D | B+ | 11 min | $54,183 |
Same-state neighbors only. Gaastra: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Iron River. Darker towns draw more of Caspian’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 Caspian: questions
What is the median household income in Caspian?
$32,794 (±$7,711) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Caspian?
35.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Caspian?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Caspian work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Iron River (32%, 2 mi), Crystal Falls (9%, 15 mi), Kingsford (6%, 31 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Caspian without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Caspian, from the people who make the trip.
More of Caspian
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.