Ada Covered Bridge · Photo: WMrapids · CC0Households in Ada Township earn more than those in 97% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Ada Township is among the top U.S. towns (A+); for walkability it is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (B−). 2.0% of residents live below the poverty line, against 13.2% across Michigan. About one in ten work in Ada Township; the top destination outside it is Grand Rapids (25%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Ada Township stands out on work
Ada Township trades workers with the towns around it
Ada Township has about as many jobs (6,989) as working residents (6,138), but they are mostly different people: 5,532 residents leave for work each day while 6,383 people come in. Only 9% of the jobs in Ada Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Ada Township and Grand Rapids trade workers both ways
Grand Rapids is the top workplace for Ada Township residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in Ada Township come from (15% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Ada Township residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Ada Township makes and builds things
36% of the jobs based in Ada Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Ada Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 19%. The jobs ↓
Most jobs in Ada Township pay over $40,000 a year
72% of the jobs based in Ada Township pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Ada Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ada Township is among the top U.S. towns, #3 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Ada Township’s grade. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is two years behind.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ada Township stays A+.
Ada Township by day and by night
On a workday 5,532 residents head out to work, 606 work right here, and 6,383 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 (1.14 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.
Where Ada Township’s working residents head each day
Where Ada Township clocks in
8% of workers
8% 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.
How many miles Ada Township commutes
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.
In Ada Township, 36% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
6,989 jobs are based in Ada Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ada Township, 2011 → 2021: 6,376 → 6,989. 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 Ada Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Ada Township takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ada Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,928 commuters (the 17% 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.
Most of Ada Township commutes by car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,157 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% 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 under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 0.8% of Ada Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Ada Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
9th of 2,362: where Ada Township ranks among U.S. towns of 10,000 to 20,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Jerome Township OH | 11,237 | $176K | 0.4% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 8 | Mendota Heights MN | 11,475 | $133K | 2.8% | 1.4% | 6% | A+ |
| 9 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 10 | Scaggsville MD | 10,564 | $207K | 2.9% | 1.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 11 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Southfield Township MI | 14,671 | $185K | 4.7% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Jamestown Township MI | 10,702 | $120K | 2.8% | 1.1% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,362 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Ada Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
The towns next door employ 22% of Ada Township
The biggest share goes to Cascade Township (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ada Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ada Township | – | A+ | B− | 20 min | $168,468 |
| Cascade Township | 8% | A+ | C+ | 19 min | $135,896 |
| Cannon Township | under 2% | A | D | 26 min | $131,956 |
| Grand Rapids Township | 4% | A | B | 20 min | $123,246 |
| Vergennes Township | under 2% | A+ | D | 27 min | $113,482 |
| Lowell Township | under 2% | A+ | C | 23 min | $104,794 |
| Northview | under 2% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Kentwood | 8% | B | A− | 20 min | $74,373 |
| Plainfield Township | 2% | A− | C+ | 20 min | $94,218 |
Same-state neighbors only. Northview: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ada 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 Ada Township: questions
What is the median household income in Ada Township?
$168,468 (±$23,526) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ada Township?
2.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ada Township?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ada Township work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (25%, 9 mi), Cascade Township (8%, 6 mi), Kentwood (8%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Ada Township walkable?
Ada Township is more walkable than 50% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ada Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ada Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ada 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. 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.