Most of Gaastra commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
Working residents average 28 minutes each way (Michigan 24, U.S. 26). Gaastra has 42 jobs for 106 working residents. Hardly any work in Gaastra; the top destination outside it is Iron River (34%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Gaastra by day and by night
On a workday 106 residents head out to work, none work right here, and 42 people come in from elsewhere.
About 260 people are in Gaastra 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 Gaastra’s working residents head each day
Where Gaastra clocks in
34% 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.
Gaastra is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Gaastra, 2011 → 2021: 5 → 42. 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 Gaastra’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Gaastra: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Gaastra workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 93 commuters (the 11% 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 Gaastra to work
About 26% 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.
Gaastra and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Caspian (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Gaastra workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaastra | – | — | — | 28 min | $47,708 |
| Stambaugh Township | under 2% | C+ | C | 26 min | $70,673 |
| Caspian | 8% | — | — | 24 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Caspian: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Gaastra’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 Gaastra: questions
What is the median household income in Gaastra?
$47,708 (±$20,673) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Gaastra?
29.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Gaastra?
28 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Gaastra work?
0% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Iron River (34%, 3 mi), Caspian (8%, 1 mi), Crystal Falls (7%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Gaastra without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Gaastra, from the people who make the trip.
More of Gaastra
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.