Making a living in Hemlock
Only 5% stay in Hemlock for work; outside it, Saginaw is the main destination (16%, 14 miles). Home is the office for 1% of workers, next to 14% for Michigan as a whole. A typical one-way commute lasts 30 minutes; Michigan averages 24, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Hemlock and work: the main findings
Fewer jobs are based in Hemlock than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Hemlock fell from 1,888 in 2011 to 362 in 2021, −81%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Few Hemlock workers work from home
Only 1% of workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Hemlock workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical 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 581 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The kinds of work in Hemlock
362 jobs are based in Hemlock.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hemlock, 2011 → 2021: 1,888 → 362. 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 Hemlock’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Hemlock takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hemlock workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 911 commuters (the 1% 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 daily flow of workers through Hemlock
On a workday 554 residents head out to work, 27 work right here, and 335 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in Hemlock on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.62 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
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 places Hemlock commutes to
Where Hemlock clocks in
16% of workers
12% of workers
10% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Hemlock
About 19% 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 Hemlock: questions
What is the median household income in Hemlock?
$102,188 (±$32,703) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hemlock?
8.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hemlock?
30 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 1% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hemlock work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Saginaw (16%, 14 mi), Saginaw Township (12%, 11 mi), Midland (10%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Hemlock without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hemlock, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hemlock
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.