With 0.6 jobs for every working resident, most of Shields works elsewhere
Only 4% stay in Shields for work; outside it, Saginaw is the main destination (19%, 6 miles). Shields has 1,520 jobs for 2,730 working residents. Working residents average 23 minutes each way, next to 24 for Michigan and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Shields
The better-paid jobs are outside Shields
56% of Shields residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 35% of the jobs based in Shields pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
43% of the jobs in Shields are in trade, transport and utilities, against 17% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
The kinds of work in Shields
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shields, 2011 → 2021: 1,581 → 1,520. 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 Shields’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Shields, and who commutes in
On a workday 2,609 residents head out to work, 121 work right here, and 1,399 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,200 people are in Shields on a workday afternoon, 16% 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.
The places Shields commutes to
Where Shields clocks in
19% of workers
16% 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.
Commuting from Shields: about 23 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shields workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,606 commuters (the 13% 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.
How far Shields goes to work
About 23% 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.
Work next door: 16% of Shields’ workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Shields workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shields | – | — | — | 23 min | $82,125 |
| Saginaw Township | 16% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| James Township | under 2% | B− | D | 28 min | $70,000 |
Same-state neighbors only. Saginaw Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Saginaw Township. Darker towns draw more of Shields’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 Shields: questions
What is the median household income in Shields?
$82,125 (±$8,466) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shields?
13.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shields?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shields work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Saginaw (19%, 6 mi), Saginaw Township (16%, 3 mi), Thomas Township (6%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Shields without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Shields, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shields
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.