Photo: Chris857 · CC BY-SA 4.0Most of Dollar Bay commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
Only 5% stay in Dollar Bay for work; outside it, Hancock is the main destination (23%, 4 miles). There are 168 jobs in Dollar Bay for 382 working residents. Working from home is the commute for 6% of workers, 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
Dollar Bay and work: the main findings
Most Dollar Bay residents work close to home
74% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. How far ↓
A lot of Dollar Bay works one town over
36% of working residents work in a town that borders Dollar Bay: Houghton (21%), Franklin Township (7%) and Portage Township (7%). Next door ↓
Commutes from Dollar Bay are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
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 382 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Dollar Bay’s commute, mile by mile
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.
From Dollar Bay, about 17 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dollar Bay workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 396 commuters (the 6% 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.
Dollar Bay on a workday afternoon
On a workday 363 residents head out to work, 19 work right here, and 149 people come in from elsewhere.
About 840 people are in Dollar Bay on a workday afternoon, 20% 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 Dollar Bay’s working residents head each day
Where Dollar Bay clocks in
23% of workers
21% 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.
53% of the jobs in Dollar Bay make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dollar Bay, 2011 → 2021: 39 → 168. 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 Dollar Bay’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Work next door: 36% of Dollar Bay’s workers
The biggest share goes to Houghton (21%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dollar Bay workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dollar Bay | – | — | — | 17 min | $61,250 |
| Franklin Township | 7% | C | C | 16 min | $78,155 |
| Houghton | 21% | C+ | A | 11 min | $43,456 |
| Torch Lake Township | 1% | C+ | C | 23 min | $69,938 |
| Portage Township | 7% | C+ | B+ | 15 min | $66,652 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Dollar Bay’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 Dollar Bay: questions
What is the median household income in Dollar Bay?
$61,250 (±$16,564) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dollar Bay?
13.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dollar Bay?
17 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dollar Bay work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hancock (23%, 4 mi), Houghton (21%, 3 mi), Portage Township (7%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Dollar Bay without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dollar Bay, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dollar 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.