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Jobs & commute in Gaines

With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Gaines works elsewhere

Gaines has 25 jobs, and 157 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any work in Gaines; the top destination outside it is Flint (8%, 15 miles). 7% of workers work from home (Michigan 14%).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

25 jobs based here
Household income
$62K
median · Michigan $73K
Poverty
7.1%
Michigan 13.2%
Unemployment
4.0%
Michigan 5.7% · U.S. 5.2%
Time each way
32 min
Michigan 24 · U.S. 26
Work in town
1%
1 of 157 working residents
Work from home
7%
Michigan 14% · U.S. 15%
Day and night

In and out of Gaines on a workday

On a workday 156 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 24 people come in from elsewhere.

156live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
24work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night370
Workday240
370live here− 160head out to work+ 24come in to work= 240on a workday

About 240 people are in Gaines on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.16jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.

The commute map

Commuting out of Gaines: the destinations

GainesDurandSwartz Creek: 6 residents work here (4%)Owosso: 5 residents work here (3%)FentonWixom: 4 residents work here (3%)Saginaw: 4 residents work here (3%)Burton: 6 residents work here (4%)Warren: 7 residents work here (4%)Flint: 13 residents work here (8%)Lansing: 6 residents work here (4%)Flint Township: 10 residents work here (6%)Grand Blanc Township: 6 residents work here (4%)Gaines TownshipForest TownshipMundy TownshipVenice TownshipArgentine TownshipHomer TownshipWisner TownshipFremont TownshipFlintFlint TownshipWarrenSwartz CreekBurtonLansingGaines
1
Flint15.3 mi away
8%13
2
Flint Township11.7 mi away
6%10
3
Warren52.1 mi away
4%7
4
Swartz Creek7.6 mi away
4%6
5
Burton17.3 mi away
4%6
6
Lansing34.7 mi away
4%6
7
Grand Blanc Township14.3 mi away
4%6
8
Owosso15.9 mi away
3%5
9
Wixom30.9 mi away
3%4
10
Saginaw37.7 mi away
3%4
Everywhere elseother towns and states
57%90
The top trips

Where Gaines clocks in

8%Flint
8% of workers
15.3 mi awayFlint13 Gaines residents work here · Jobs & commute →
6%Flint Township
6% of workers
11.7 mi awayFlint Township10 Gaines residents work here · Jobs & commute →
4% of workers
52.1 mi awayWarren7 Gaines residents work here · Jobs & commute →

Lines 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 jobs

Most jobs in Gaines are in services

Jobs based in GainesJobs Gaines residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%23%
Trade, transport & utilities0%20%
Services: health, schools, offices100%57%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less80%10%
$1,251–$3,333 a month12%25%
Over $3,333 a month8%64%

Who does it

29 or younger44%17%
30 to 5428%58%
55 and older28%25%
+178%

Jobs based in Gaines, 2011 → 2021: 9 → 25. 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 Gaines’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Getting to work from Gaines takes about 32 minutes

A year of commuting
244 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Gaines32 min
Michigan24 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
7%

of Gaines workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
How Gaines gets to work
85%Drive alone
12%Carpool
2%Walk

Share of the 203 commuters (the 7% 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.

How far

Short hops and long hauls from Gaines

10 mi25 mi50 mi60 miFlint: 8% · 15.3 miFlint Township: 6% · 11.7 miWarren: 4% · 52.1 miSwartz Creek: 4% · 7.6 miBurton: 4% · 17.3 miLansing: 4% · 34.7 miGrand Blanc Township: 4% · 14.3 miOwosso: 3% · 15.9 miWixom: 3% · 30.9 miSaginaw: 3% · 37.7 miFlint 8%Flint Township 6%Warren 4%Swartz Creek 4%Gaines
GainesTop destinations (size = commuters)
11%Under 10 mi18 residents
43%10–24 mi67 residents
36%25–50 mi56 residents
10%Over 50 mi16 residents

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.

Next door

Next door to Gaines

Gaines Township: few work hereArgentine Township: few work hereGaines TownshipArgentine TownshipGaines
10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Gaines Township32 min
Gaines32 min
Argentine Township36 min
Gaines Townshipunder 3% of GainesArgentine Townshipunder 3% of Gaines

Jobs & commute next door

TownGaines workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Gaines–——32 min$62,083
Gaines Townshipunder 3%BD32 min$84,363
Argentine Townshipunder 3%B+D36 min$98,508

Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

Darker towns draw more of Gaines’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Gaines: questions

What is the median household income in Gaines?

$62,083 (±$19,949) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Gaines?

7.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Gaines?

32 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Gaines work?

1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Flint (8%, 15 mi), Flint Township (6%, 12 mi), Warren (4%, 52 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).

Can you get around Gaines without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Gaines, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Gaines

Gaines home →
$850median rent
HousingLive where you work?Homes and rent in Gaines
32min commute
HandbookGetting around GainesRoads, buses, parking and the basics
shortest commutes
RankingsTop towns in MIShortest commutes, work from home & more

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.