Photo: n8huckins · CC BY-SA 4.0Mackinac Island draws 377 commuters a day, with 2.1 jobs for every working resident
About one in seven work in Mackinac Island; the top destination outside it is St. Ignace (23%, 5 miles). 407 jobs are based in Mackinac Island, against 194 working residents. Working residents average 9 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Mackinac Island on a workday afternoon
On a workday 164 residents head out to work and 30 work right here.
About 830 people are in Mackinac Island on a workday afternoon, 35% more 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.
The towns that send workers to Mackinac Island
Where Mackinac Island clocks in
6% 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.
The kinds of work in Mackinac Island
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mackinac Island, 2011 → 2021: 394 → 407. 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 Mackinac Island’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Mackinac Island spends getting to work: about 9 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 2.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mackinac Island workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 338 commuters (the 9% 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 commute from Mackinac Island, by distance
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.
How Mackinac Island compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to St. Ignace Township (4%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mackinac Island workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mackinac Island | – | — | — | 9 min | $95,000 |
| Bois Blanc Township | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
| St. Ignace Township | 4% | D− | C+ | 18 min | $52,656 |
Same-state neighbors only. Bois Blanc Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Mackinac Island’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 Mackinac Island: questions
What is the median household income in Mackinac Island?
$95,000 (±$18,232) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mackinac Island?
13.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mackinac Island?
9 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mackinac Island work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Ignace (23%, 5 mi), Moran Township (13%, 20 mi), Sault Ste. Marie (6%, 44 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Mackinac Island without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 60% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mackinac Island, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mackinac Island
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.