Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Climax commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
Commuters spend 22 minutes getting to work on average; the Michigan average is 24, the U.S. 26. Employers in Climax report 74 jobs for 280 working residents. Only 2% stay in Climax for work; outside it, Kalamazoo is the main destination (11%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Climax
The daily flow of workers through Climax
On a workday 275 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 69 people come in from elsewhere.
About 530 people are in Climax on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
Where Climax’s working residents head each day
Where Climax clocks in
11% of workers
11% 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.
Goods jobs make up 31% of work in Climax
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Climax, 2011 → 2021: 126 → 74. 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 Climax’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Climax spends getting to work: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Climax workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 222 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 Climax
About 20% 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 Climax: questions
What is the median household income in Climax?
$85,313 (±$33,798) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Climax?
8.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Climax?
22 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Climax work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kalamazoo (11%, 13 mi), Battle Creek (11%, 7 mi), Portage (11%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Climax 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 Climax, from the people who make the trip.
More of Climax
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.