Leiendecker's Inn-Coral Gables · Photo: Teemu08 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Where Saugatuck earns its living
Working residents average 41 minutes each way (Michigan 24, U.S. 26). Home is the office for 35% of workers, against 14% across Michigan. About one in ten work in Saugatuck; the top destination outside it is Holland (11%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Saugatuck
Saugatuck workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 41 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 314 hours of commuting, 130 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Home offices are common in Saugatuck
35% of Saugatuck workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Saugatuck
60% of Saugatuck residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 34% of the jobs based in Saugatuck pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 90% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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 305 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
About 41 minutes each way, longer than most of Michigan
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Saugatuck workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 249 commuters (the 35% 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.
Most jobs in Saugatuck are in services
481 jobs are based in Saugatuck.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Saugatuck, 2011 → 2021: 421 → 481. 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 Saugatuck’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Saugatuck fills up on a workday
On a workday 276 residents head out to work, 29 work right here, and 452 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Saugatuck on a workday afternoon, 20% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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 Saugatuck’s workforce comes from
Where Saugatuck clocks in
11% of workers
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 distance from Saugatuck to work
About 20% 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.
Saugatuck and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Douglas (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Saugatuck workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saugatuck | – | — | — | 41 min | $121,178 |
| Saugatuck Township | 3% | A | B | 23 min | $93,618 |
| Douglas | 6% | A− | A− | 17 min | $81,627 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Saugatuck’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 Saugatuck: questions
What is the median household income in Saugatuck?
$121,178 (±$11,550) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Saugatuck?
11.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Saugatuck?
41 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 35% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Saugatuck work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Holland (11%, 9 mi), Douglas (6%, 2 mi), Holland Township (6%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Saugatuck without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Saugatuck, from the people who make the trip.
More of Saugatuck
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.