With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of St. Helen works elsewhere
6% of workers work from home (Michigan 14%). There are 133 jobs in St. Helen; 810 of its residents have a job. Only 6% work in St. Helen; the top destination outside it is Richfield Township (7%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in St. Helen, in brief
A big share show a job far from home
47% 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 ↓
St. Helen is a place people come home to
There are 133 jobs based in St. Helen, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
Fewer than half of St. Helen workers earn over $40,000 a year
39% of St. Helen’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 18% earn $1,250 a month or less. 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 810 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Near or far: the trip to work from St. Helen
About 47% 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.
St. Helen on a workday afternoon
On a workday 765 residents head out to work, 45 work right here, and 88 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in St. Helen on a workday afternoon, 23% 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.
Jobs in St. Helen: what the 133 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in St. Helen, 2011 → 2021: 171 → 133. 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 St. Helen’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The places St. Helen commutes to
Where St. Helen clocks in
Lines 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.
Getting to work from St. Helen takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of St. Helen workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 718 commuters (the 6% 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.
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 St. Helen: questions
What is the median household income in St. Helen?
$44,871 (±$4,435) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in St. Helen?
32.8%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from St. Helen?
30 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in St. Helen work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Richfield Township (7%, 2 mi), Higgins Township (6%, 8 mi), West Branch (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around St. Helen without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from St. Helen, from the people who make the trip.
More of St. Helen
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.