Photo: Matt Morse · CC BY-SA 3.0At 9.7%, unemployment in Michigan Township is higher than in 94% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Michigan Township is behind 77% of U.S. towns. The two grades for Michigan Township are C− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 5.7 in Indianapolis.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Michigan Township apart
Michigan Township trades workers with the towns around it
Michigan Township has about as many jobs (10,364) as working residents (9,889), but they are mostly different people: 7,627 residents leave for work each day while 8,102 people come in. Only 22% of the jobs in Michigan Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Michigan Township and Michigan City trade workers both ways
Michigan City is the top workplace for Michigan Township residents (32%) and also where the most people who work in Michigan Township come from (26% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Where Michigan Township’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Michigan Township is better than 21% of U.S. towns, #524 of 593 in Indiana. Job access by car holds Michigan Township’s grade up (ahead of 68% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Michigan Township could be anywhere from C− to C.
The daily commute in and out of Michigan Township
On a workday 7,627 residents head out to work, 2,262 work right here, and 8,102 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 (1.05 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
32% of working residents work in Michigan City
Where Michigan Township clocks in
8% of workers
4% 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.
The kinds of work in Michigan Township
10,364 jobs are based in Michigan Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Michigan Township, 2014 → 2024: 11,963 → 10,364. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Michigan Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 23 minutes from Michigan Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Michigan Township workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,560 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across Indiana: 85% 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.
Miles to work from Michigan Township
About 17% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Michigan Township, walking beats the bus
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.3% across Indiana.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 10,511 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 32% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 54% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.5% of Michigan Township households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Michigan Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Michigan Township and other U.S. towns of 19,000 to 36,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | St. John IN | 24,841 | $131K | 2.1% | 2.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Zionsville IN | 33,624 | $172K | 3.1% | 2.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 97 | Vernon Township IN | 20,047 | $108K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,339 | Alamo TX | 20,625 | $57K | 25.3% | 9.4% | 5% | C− |
| 1,340 | Chicago Heights IL | 26,508 | $55K | 26.9% | 14.6% | 9% | C− |
| 1,341 | Michigan Township IN | 26,881 | $58K | 17.8% | 9.7% | 23% | C− |
| 1,342 | Radcliff KY | 22,576 | $59K | 15.9% | 9.3% | 10% | C− |
| 1,343 | Albertville AL | 23,710 | $56K | 18.2% | 6.0% | 32% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,477 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 35% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Michigan Township, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Michigan Township and its neighbors: 35% work next door
The biggest share goes to Michigan City (32%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Michigan Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan Township | – | C− | A− | 23 min | $58,356 |
| Coolspring Township | 3% | C+ | C+ | 22 min | $61,875 |
| Michigan City | 32% | C− | B+ | 21 min | $53,089 |
| Springfield Township | under 2% | A− | D | 28 min | $85,313 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Michigan 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 2024, 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 Michigan Township: questions
What is the median household income in Michigan Township?
$58,356 (±$3,599) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Michigan Township?
17.8%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Michigan Township?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Michigan Township work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Michigan City (32%, 2 mi), La Porte (8%, 12 mi), Indianapolis (4%, 140 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Michigan Township walkable?
Michigan Township is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Michigan Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Michigan Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Michigan Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.