Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Lake Linden have lower incomes than those in 94% of U.S. towns
13.8% of residents are in poverty; Michigan has 13.2%. The two grades for Lake Linden are D for jobs and income and A for walkability. Only 3% work in Lake Linden; the top destination outside it is Hancock (19%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Lake Linden apart
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Lake Linden
On income, poverty and job access, Lake Linden is better than 6% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Lake Linden’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($43,472, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (9.2%) is left out: Lake Linden’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is three years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Lake Linden could be anywhere from D− to C−.
Each way, about 16 minutes from Lake Linden
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lake Linden workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 469 commuters (the 6% 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 many people are in Lake Linden by day
On a workday 350 residents head out to work, 11 work right here, and 172 people come in from elsewhere.
About 860 people are in Lake Linden on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.51 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.
Where people from Lake Linden work
Where Lake Linden clocks in
19% of workers
17% of workers
16% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Lake Linden
183 jobs are based in Lake Linden.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lake Linden, 2011 → 2021: 175 → 183. 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 Lake Linden’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Lake Linden, by distance
About 22% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Lake Linden
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lake Linden is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 9.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 8.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 500 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). 10.8% of Lake Linden households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lake Linden’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,133 U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400, Lake Linden comes 2,739th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 172 | Petersburg MI | 1,152 | $83K | 1.8% | 1.7% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 216 | Freedom Township MI | 1,298 | $113K | 6.7% | 2.5% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,737 | Easton WI | 1,078 | $54K | 19.5% | 7.2% | 2% | D |
| 2,738 | Lone Star TX | 1,391 | $39K | 28.0% | 8.1% | 2% | D |
| 2,739 | Lake Linden MI | 1,041 | $43K | 13.8% | 9.2% | 3% | D |
| 2,740 | Stover MO | 1,064 | $48K | 16.2% | 1.1% | 14% | D |
| 2,741 | Creighton NE | 1,113 | $50K | 14.5% | 4.3% | 28% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 1% | 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 Lake Linden, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door to Lake Linden
The biggest share goes to Torch Lake Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lake Linden workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Linden | – | D | A | 16 min | $43,472 |
| Schoolcraft Township | 3% | D | B | 18 min | $55,327 |
| Torch Lake Township | 5% | C+ | C | 23 min | $69,938 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lake Linden’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 Lake Linden: questions
What is the median household income in Lake Linden?
$43,472 (±$9,023) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lake Linden?
13.8%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lake Linden?
16 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lake Linden work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hancock (19%, 10 mi), Houghton (17%, 9 mi), Calumet Township (16%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Lake Linden walkable?
Lake Linden is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lake Linden without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lake Linden, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lake Linden
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.