Earning a living in Merrill
Working residents average 30 minutes each way, where Michigan has 24 and the U.S. 26. Home is the office for 4% of workers; Michigan has 14%. Only 4% stay in Merrill for work; outside it, Saginaw is the main destination (11%, 19 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Merrill in brief
Commuting from Merrill: about 30 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Merrill workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 231 commuters (the 5% 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 commute in and out of Merrill
On a workday 241 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 160 people come in from elsewhere.
About 590 people are in Merrill on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.68 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 Merrill’s working residents head each day
Where Merrill clocks in
11% of workers
11% of workers
7% 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 Merrill
169 jobs are based in Merrill.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Merrill, 2011 → 2021: 109 → 169. 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 Merrill’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Merrill
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 Merrill: questions
What is the median household income in Merrill?
$47,500 (±$16,132) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Merrill?
33.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Merrill?
30 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Merrill work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Saginaw (11%, 19 mi), Saginaw Township (11%, 16 mi), Midland (7%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Merrill 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 Merrill, from the people who make the trip.
More of Merrill
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.