Photo: Andreas Faessler · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Rogers City are lower than in 89% of U.S. towns
Rogers City grades D for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Below the poverty line: 17.7% of residents, next to 13.2% across Michigan. About one in four stay in Rogers City for work; outside it, Alpena is the main destination (8%, 30 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Rogers City in brief
Rogers City trades workers with the towns around it
Rogers City has about as many jobs (913) as working residents (1,040), but they are mostly different people: 752 residents leave for work each day while 625 people come in. Only 32% of the jobs in Rogers City are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Rogers City than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Rogers City fell from 1,413 in 2011 to 913 in 2021, −35%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Rogers City’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Rogers City is Alpena, 30 miles away as the crow flies. 8% of working residents (81) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
38% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
Rogers City’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Rogers City is better than 5% of U.S. towns, #686 of 701 in Michigan. The poverty rate holds Rogers City’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 3% of U.S. towns).
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, poverty and unemployment, Rogers City could be anywhere from D− to C.
Who leaves Rogers City for work, and who comes in
On a workday 752 residents head out to work, 288 work right here, and 625 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 (0.88 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.
Rogers City works in goods: 31% of its jobs
913 jobs are based in Rogers City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rogers City, 2011 → 2021: 1,413 → 913. 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 Rogers City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Rogers City works
About 38% 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.
Where the trip to work from Rogers City ends
Where Rogers City clocks in
8% of workers
3% 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.
Rogers City’s commute takes about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rogers City workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,021 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Rogers City
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rogers City is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #97 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Rogers City 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 1,128 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). 9.5% of Rogers City households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Rogers City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Rogers City next to U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,900
| # | 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% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 144 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 240 | Milton Township MI | 3,187 | $119K | 3.2% | 2.3% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,599 | Union City IN | 3,450 | $39K | 31.2% | 7.1% | 15% | D |
| 4,600 | Federalsburg MD | 2,864 | $34K | 34.0% | 9.5% | 10% | D |
| 4,601 | Rogers City MI | 2,869 | $49K | 17.7% | 6.8% | 28% | D |
| 4,602 | Van Horn TX | 2,020 | $60K | 21.1% | 1.4% | 27% | D |
| 4,603 | Chase City VA | 2,054 | $46K | 17.1% | 0.5% | 9% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,882 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 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 Rogers City, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
The towns around Rogers City
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rogers City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rogers City | – | D | A− | 21 min | $49,266 |
| Rogers Township | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Pulawski Township | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Rogers Township and Pulawski Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Rogers City’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 Rogers City: questions
What is the median household income in Rogers City?
$49,266 (±$6,538) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rogers City?
17.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rogers City?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rogers City work?
28% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Alpena (8%, 30 mi), Alpena Township (3%, 30 mi), Hillman Township (3%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Rogers City walkable?
Rogers City is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rogers City without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rogers City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rogers City
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.