Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0Iron River’s household incomes are lower than in 82% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 20.6% of residents, where Michigan as a whole has 13.2%. Jobs and income earn Iron River D; getting around on foot earns it B+. About one in three stay in Iron River for work; outside it, Crystal Falls is the main destination (7%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Iron River at work: what stands out
Commutes from Iron River are quick
The average trip to work takes 11 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker, and quicker than any town next door (23 to 28 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Iron River trades workers with the towns around it
Iron River has about as many jobs (1,294) as working residents (1,078), but they are mostly different people: 753 residents leave for work each day while 969 people come in. Only 25% of the jobs in Iron River are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Fewer than half of Iron River workers earn over $40,000 a year
38% of Iron River’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 22% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Iron River pay little
28% of the jobs based in Iron River pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
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.
The figures behind Iron River’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Iron River is better than 11% of U.S. towns, #666 of 701 in Michigan. Unemployment holds Iron River’s grade up (4.7%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is two years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Iron River could be anywhere from D− to C.
The trip to work from Iron River: about 11 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Iron River workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,101 commuters (the 14% 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.
Who commutes out of Iron River, and who commutes in
On a workday 753 residents head out to work, 325 work right here, and 969 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.20 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
What work there is in Iron River: 1,294 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Iron River, 2011 → 2021: 1,064 → 1,294. 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 Iron River’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Iron River’s working residents head each day
Where Iron River clocks in
7% of workers
6% 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.
Iron River’s commute, mile by mile
About 24% 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.
Most of Iron River commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Iron River is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #129 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Iron River near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,274 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.2% of Iron River households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Iron River’s commuters take a bus or train.
Iron River next to U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,100: 4,218th of 4,771 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 142 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 227 | Heath Township MI | 4,017 | $105K | 1.3% | 0.9% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,216 | Bangor NY | 2,201 | $65K | 19.0% | 0.3% | 2% | D |
| 4,217 | Pierre Part LA | 2,308 | $60K | 18.8% | 8.7% | 11% | D |
| 4,218 | Iron River MI | 3,027 | $54K | 20.6% | 4.7% | 30% | D |
| 4,219 | Anchor Point AK | 2,243 | $63K | 14.4% | 8.1% | — | D |
| 4,220 | Staples MN | 3,074 | $52K | 15.9% | 6.6% | 22% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,771 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Iron River, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door to Iron River
The biggest share goes to Iron River Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Iron River workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iron River | – | D | B+ | 11 min | $54,183 |
| Iron River Township | 4% | D | C | 23 min | $55,655 |
| Stambaugh Township | under 2% | C+ | C | 26 min | $70,673 |
| Caspian | 4% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Bates Township | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Caspian and Bates Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Iron River’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 Iron River: questions
What is the median household income in Iron River?
$54,183 (±$5,287) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Iron River?
20.6%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Iron River?
11 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Iron River work?
30% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Crystal Falls (7%, 15 mi), Kingsford (6%, 33 mi), Iron Mountain (5%, 33 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Iron River walkable?
Iron River is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Iron River without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Iron River, from the people who make the trip.
More of Iron River
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.