Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Luna Pier works elsewhere
Luna Pier has 150 jobs; 559 of its residents have a job. For jobs and income Luna Pier is better than 32% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (B). Only 2% work in Luna Pier; the top destination outside it is Toledo (21%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Luna Pier at work: what stands out
A lot of Luna Pier workers cross into Ohio
36% of Luna Pier workers work outside Michigan, most of them in Ohio, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Luna Pier and Toledo trade workers both ways
Toledo is the top workplace for Luna Pier residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Luna Pier come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Luna Pier is a place people come home to
There are 150 jobs based in Luna Pier, about three for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Luna Pier has about 940 people in it, 30% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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 559 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The figures behind Luna Pier’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Luna Pier’s grade up (ahead of 78% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (26.0%, U.S. 12.5%).
Unemployment (3.8%) is left out: Luna Pier’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 two years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Luna Pier could be anywhere from C− to B.
The places Luna Pier commutes to
Where Luna Pier clocks in
21% of workers
4% 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.
Luna Pier quiets down on a workday
On a workday 550 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 141 people come in from elsewhere.
About 940 people are in Luna Pier on a workday afternoon, 30% 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.
67% of the jobs in Luna Pier pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Luna Pier, 2011 → 2021: 115 → 150. 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 Luna Pier’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Luna Pier: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Luna Pier workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 440 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 Luna Pier to work
About 15% 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 Luna Pier commutes by car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 495 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). 6.0% of Luna Pier households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Luna Pier’s commuters take a bus or train.
Luna Pier is 2,899th of 5,400 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,800 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% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 139 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 168 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,897 | Morris NY | 1,720 | $76K | 11.0% | 4.6% | 7% | C |
| 2,898 | Merlin OR | 1,617 | $72K | 8.8% | 1.6% | 3% | C |
| 2,899 | Luna Pier MI | 1,351 | $62K | 26.0% | 3.8% | 2% | C |
| 2,900 | Watkins MN | 1,018 | $65K | 11.4% | 4.0% | 4% | C |
| 2,901 | Dawson MN | 1,444 | $69K | 7.6% | 2.5% | 29% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Luna Pier, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Luna Pier and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Erie Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Luna Pier workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luna Pier | – | C | B | 27 min | $61,641 |
| Erie Township | 3% | B | C | 28 min | $71,250 |
| La Salle Township | under 3% | B | D | 25 min | $85,531 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Luna Pier’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 Luna Pier: questions
What is the median household income in Luna Pier?
$61,641 (±$21,867) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Luna Pier?
26.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Luna Pier?
27 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Luna Pier work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Toledo (21%, 12 mi), Detroit (5%, 44 mi), Monroe (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Luna Pier walkable?
Luna Pier is more walkable than 55% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Luna Pier 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 Luna Pier, from the people who make the trip.
More of Luna Pier
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.