Wolverine at work: jobs, income and the commute
Only 3% stay in Wolverine for work; outside it, Gaylord is the main destination (9%, 18 miles). Home is the office for 6% of workers, where Michigan as a whole has 14%. The trip to work takes 30 minutes on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Wolverine
On a workday 93 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 53 people come in from elsewhere.
About 240 people are in Wolverine on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.58 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
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 Wolverine’s working residents head each day
Where Wolverine clocks in
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.
What the 56 jobs in Wolverine are
56 jobs are based in Wolverine.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wolverine, 2011 → 2021: 61 → 56. 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 Wolverine’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Wolverine: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wolverine workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 110 commuters (the 6% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Wolverine
About 25% 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.
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 Wolverine: questions
What is the median household income in Wolverine?
$67,500 (±$26,254) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wolverine?
34.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wolverine?
30 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wolverine work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Gaylord (9%, 18 mi), Walker Township (7%, 10 mi), Cheboygan (5%, 26 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Wolverine without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wolverine, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wolverine
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.