Fort Michilimackinac · Photo: WMrapids · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs and the daily commute in Wawatam Township
5% of workers work from home; Michigan has 14%. Only 6% work in Wawatam Township itself; outside it, Petoskey draws the most (11%, 27 miles). The trip to work takes 16 minutes on average, where Michigan has 24 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Wawatam Township
Fewer jobs are based in Wawatam Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Wawatam Township fell from 525 in 2011 to 195 in 2021, −63%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Wawatam Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Wawatam Township is Petoskey, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (23) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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; with 211 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
In Wawatam Township, services account for most jobs
195 jobs are based in Wawatam Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wawatam Township, 2011 → 2021: 525 → 195. 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 Wawatam Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Wawatam Township
About 33% 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.
Wawatam Township on a workday afternoon
On a workday 199 residents head out to work, 12 work right here, and 183 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 (0.92 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 towns that employ Wawatam Township’s residents
Where Wawatam Township clocks in
11% of workers
5% 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.
Commuting from Wawatam Township: about 16 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wawatam Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 280 commuters (the 5% 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.
The towns around Wawatam Township
The biggest share goes to Mackinaw Township (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wawatam Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wawatam Township | – | — | — | 16 min | $49,318 |
| Carp Lake Township | 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Mackinaw Township | 7% | — | — | 13 min | — |
| Mackinaw City | under 2% | — | — | 13 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Carp Lake Township, Mackinaw Township and Mackinaw City: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wawatam 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 Wawatam Township: questions
What is the median household income in Wawatam Township?
$49,318 (±$11,410) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wawatam Township?
14.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wawatam Township?
16 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wawatam Township work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Petoskey (11%, 27 mi), Mackinaw Township (7%, 4 mi), Cheboygan (5%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Wawatam Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wawatam Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wawatam 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.