Vandercook Lake has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
4% of workers have no commute at all (Michigan 14%). Vandercook Lake has 847 jobs for 1,790 working residents. The average commute takes 20 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
Vandercook Lake and work: the main findings
Stores, warehouses and trucking
64% of the jobs in Vandercook Lake are in trade, transport and utilities, against 19% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Few Vandercook Lake workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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.
What Vandercook Lake’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Vandercook Lake, 2011 → 2021: 993 → 847. 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 Vandercook Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Vandercook Lake: 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 Vandercook Lake workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,971 commuters (the 4% 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.
Vandercook Lake by day and by night
On a workday 1,739 residents head out to work, 51 work right here, and 796 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Vandercook Lake on a workday afternoon, 22% 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.
25% of working residents work in Jackson
Where Vandercook Lake clocks in
25% 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 Vandercook Lake to work
About 17% 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.
The towns next door employ 25% of Vandercook Lake
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Vandercook Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vandercook Lake | – | — | — | 20 min | $59,262 |
| Jackson | 25% | D | A− | 17 min | $44,558 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Jackson. Darker towns draw more of Vandercook Lake’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 Vandercook Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Vandercook Lake?
$59,262 (±$10,918) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Vandercook Lake?
7.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Vandercook Lake?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Vandercook Lake work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Jackson (25%, 4 mi), Blackman Township (12%, 8 mi), Summit Township (11%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Vandercook Lake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and <1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Vandercook Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Vandercook Lake
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.