Planter Road-Jackson Creek Bridge · Photo: Sa magnuson33 · CC BY-SA 3.0Wakefield 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
The daily commute in and out of Wakefield Township
On a workday 90 residents head out to work and 6 work right here.
About 440 people are in Wakefield Township on a workday afternoon, 46% more 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.
Where Wakefield Township’s workforce comes from
Where Wakefield Township clocks in
10% of workers
10% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 56% of the jobs in Wakefield Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
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.
Each way, about 30 minutes from Wakefield Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wakefield Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
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 Wakefield Township’s workers travel
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.
Wakefield Township and its neighbors: 24% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wakefield Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield Township | – | — | — | 30 min | $54,375 |
| Wakefield | 14% | D | B | 22 min | $55,759 |
| Bessemer Township | 5% | D− | C− | 22 min | $56,016 |
| Ironwood Township | 5% | C+ | C+ | 18 min | $69,107 |
| Carp Lake Township | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Marenisco Township | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Bergland Township | under 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.
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 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.
More of Wakefield Township
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.