Dowling has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Only 1% work in Dowling; the top destination outside it is Battle Creek (15%, 16 miles). Employers in Dowling report 44 jobs, against 142 working residents. The average commute takes 37 minutes each way, next to 24 for Michigan and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Who leaves Dowling for work, and who comes in
On a workday 140 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 42 people come in from elsewhere.
About 170 people are in Dowling on a workday afternoon, 37% 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 the trip to work from Dowling ends
Where Dowling clocks in
15% of workers
5% 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.
The kinds of work in Dowling
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dowling, 2011 → 2021: 21 → 44. 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 Dowling’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Dowling: about 37 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dowling workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 111 commuters (the 17% 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 Dowling
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 Dowling: questions
What is the median household income in Dowling?
$90,313 (±$41,024) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dowling?
6.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dowling?
37 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dowling work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Battle Creek (15%, 16 mi), Hastings (8%, 9 mi), Kalamazoo (5%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Dowling 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 Dowling, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dowling
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.