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Jobs & commute in Wakefield Township

Wakefield Township draws 229 commuters a day, with 2.4 jobs for every working resident

Only 6% work in Wakefield Township; the top destination outside it is Wakefield (14%, 6 miles). Employers in Wakefield Township report 235 jobs, and 96 of its residents work somewhere. Home is the office for 2% of workers, next to 14% for Michigan as a whole.

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

The daily commute in and out of Wakefield Township

On a workday 90 residents head out to work and 6 work right here.

90live here, work elsewhere
6live and work here
229work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night300
Workday440
300live here− 90head out to work+ 230come in to work= 440on a workday

About 440 people are in Wakefield Township on a workday afternoon, 46% more than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
2.45jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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 commute map

Where Wakefield Township’s workforce comes from

Bessemer: 25 workers live here (11%)Ironwood: 38 workers live here (16%)Iron RiverWakefield: 55 workers live here (23%)Iron MountainMontreal: 4 workers live here (2%)Hurley: 9 workers live here (4%)Watersmeet Township: 7 workers live here (3%)Bergland TownshipMarenisco Township: 9 workers live here (4%)Bessemer Township: 20 workers live here (9%)Ironwood Township: 17 workers live here (7%)Wakefield TownshipCarp Lake TownshipWakefieldIronwoodBessemerBessemer TownshipIronwood TownshipHurleyWakefield Township
1
Wakefield5.5 mi away
23%55
2
Ironwood14.5 mi away
16%38
3
Bessemer9.5 mi away
11%25
49%20
5
Ironwood Township12.9 mi away
7%17
6
Hurley, WI17.2 mi away
4%9
74%9
83%7
9
Wakefield Township (in town)right here
3%6
10
Montreal, WI19 mi away
2%4
Everywhere elseother towns and states
19%45
The top trips

Where Wakefield Township 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.

The jobs

Factories, building and farms: 56% of the jobs in Wakefield Township

Jobs based in Wakefield TownshipJobs Wakefield Township residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms56%21%
Trade, transport & utilities2%23%
Services: health, schools, offices42%56%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less32%22%
$1,251–$3,333 a month21%33%
Over $3,333 a month46%45%

Who does it

29 or younger26%20%
30 to 5444%47%
55 and older30%33%
+209%

Jobs based in Wakefield Township, 2011 → 2021: 76 → 235. 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 Wakefield Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

Each way, about 30 minutes from Wakefield Township

A year of commuting
226 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Wakefield Township30 min
Michigan24 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
2%

of Wakefield Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Wakefield Township gets to work
88%Drive alone
12%Carpool

Share of the 209 commuters (the 2% 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

How far Wakefield Township’s workers travel

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miWakefield: 14% · 5.5 miBessemer: 10% · 9.5 miIronwood: 10% · 14.5 miWatersmeet Township: 9% · 37.8 miBessemer Township: 5% · 11 miIronwood Township: 5% · 12.9 miIron Mountain: 4% · 100.2 miKnight: 3% · 29.7 miIron River: 2% · 67 miWakefield 14%Bessemer 10%Watersmeet Township 9%Wakefield Township
Wakefield TownshipTop destinations (size = commuters)
39%Under 10 mi37 residents
19%10–24 mi18 residents
19%25–50 mi18 residents
24%Over 50 mi23 residents

About 24% 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.

Next door

Wakefield Township and its neighbors: 24% work next door

Jobs & commute next door

TownWakefield Township workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Wakefield Township–——30 min$54,375
Wakefield14%DB22 min$55,759
Bessemer Township5%D−C−22 min$56,016
Ironwood Township5%C+C+18 min$69,107
Carp Lake Townshipunder 3%——26 min—
Marenisco Townshipunder 3%——28 min—
Bergland Townshipunder 3%——20 min—

Same-state neighbors only. Carp Lake Township, Marenisco Township and Bergland Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

The biggest share goes to Wakefield. Darker towns draw more of Wakefield Township’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Wakefield Township: questions

What is the median household income in Wakefield Township?

$54,375 (±$17,830) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Wakefield Township?

7.8%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Wakefield Township?

30 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Wakefield Township work?

6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wakefield (14%, 6 mi), Bessemer (10%, 10 mi), Ironwood (10%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).

Can you get around Wakefield Township 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 Wakefield Township, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Wakefield Township

Wakefield Township home →

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.