Making a living in Vanderbilt
Only 3% stay in Vanderbilt for work; outside it, Gaylord is the main destination (22%, 9 miles). The trip to work takes 20 minutes on average (Michigan 24, U.S. 26). Employers in Vanderbilt report 132 jobs, and 167 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
In and out of Vanderbilt on a workday
On a workday 162 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 127 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 (0.79 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.
The places Vanderbilt commutes to
Where Vanderbilt clocks in
4% 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.
Goods, not services: 70% of the jobs in Vanderbilt
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Vanderbilt, 2011 → 2021: 194 → 132. 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 Vanderbilt’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Vanderbilt: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Vanderbilt workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 161 commuters (the 17% 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 it is to work from Vanderbilt
About 46% 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 Vanderbilt: questions
What is the median household income in Vanderbilt?
$53,958 (±$13,898) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Vanderbilt?
9.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Vanderbilt?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Vanderbilt work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gaylord (22%, 9 mi), Corwith Township (7%, 5 mi), Ypsilanti Township (4%, 209 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Vanderbilt without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 17% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Vanderbilt, from the people who make the trip.
More of Vanderbilt
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.