Most Counties in the Upper Peninsula Had Short Travel Times to Work

The Map of the Month analyzes the average travel time to work by county in Michigan. For more information on commuting patterns in the Michigan Works! Northeast Consortium area, please read this month’s Michigan Works! regional update.

Statewide, the average travel time to work was 24 minutes. This was lower than the national average of 27 minutes and was the 22nd shortest average among states. South Dakota had the shortest average travel time at just under 18 minutes while New York had the longest at nearly 33 minutes.

Within Michigan, the counties in the Upper Peninsula accounted for eight of the top 10 shortest travel times to work. Luce and Houghton counties had the shortest travel time to work at 16 minutes each. Alpena County, in Northeast Michigan, was the only county not in the Upper Peninsula with an average work commute of less than 20 minutes.

Lapeer County residents had the longest average travel time to work at 34 minutes followed by Livingston County at 31 minutes. West Michigan had four counties within the top 10 longest commute times, led by Lake, Montcalm, and Newaygo counties at 30 minutes each.

Counties with large population centers outside the Metro Detroit region tended to have shorter commute times than the statewide average. This included Ingham County (21 minutes), Kalamazoo County (20 minutes), and Kent County (21 minutes). Wayne County residents had an average travel time to work just above the statewide average of 25 minutes.

Counties in the Upper Peninsula tended to have the shortest commutes in the state.

Average Commute Time (in Minutes) by Michigan County

Source: 2023 5-Year Estimates, American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau