Jobs, pay and the trip to work in Waverly
The trip to work takes 18 minutes on average (Michigan 24, U.S. 26). About one in ten stay in Waverly for work; outside it, Lansing is the main destination (29%, 4 miles). There are 12,165 jobs in Waverly; 10,012 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Waverly in brief
Waverly and Lansing trade workers both ways
Lansing is the top workplace for Waverly residents (29%) and also where the most people who work in Waverly come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Waverly residents work close to home
64% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Commutes from Waverly are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
Waverly draws workers from far and wide
The 12,165 jobs in Waverly are filled from a wide area. Waverly’s own residents hold 9% and the ten next-biggest home towns 35%; the other 56% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Where the trip to work from Waverly ends
Where Waverly clocks in
29% of workers
7% 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.
Where in the region Waverly works
About 19% 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.
From Waverly, about 18 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Waverly workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,588 commuters (the 19% 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 a workday changes Waverly
On a workday 8,953 residents head out to work, 1,059 work right here, and 11,106 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 (1.22 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.
What Waverly’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Waverly, 2011 → 2021: 15,884 → 12,165. 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 Waverly’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Waverly: questions
What is the median household income in Waverly?
$75,700 (±$4,522) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Waverly?
10.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Waverly?
18 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 19% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Waverly work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lansing (29%, 4 mi), Delta Township (16%, 2 mi), East Lansing (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Waverly without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Waverly, from the people who make the trip.
More of Waverly
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.