With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Athens Township works elsewhere
Jobs and income earn Athens Township B; getting around on foot earns it C−. Athens Township has 456 jobs; 866 of its residents have a job. Only 7% work in Athens Township itself; outside it, Battle Creek draws the most (18%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Income, poverty and work: Athens Township’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Athens Township is better than 62% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Athens Township’s grade up (2.0%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($62,841, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate.
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 rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Athens Township could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
Who works in Athens Township, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 808 residents head out to work, 58 work right here, and 398 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,000 people are in Athens Township on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
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 places Athens Township commutes to
Where Athens Township clocks in
18% of workers
6% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Athens Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Athens Township, 2011 → 2021: 231 → 456. 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 Athens Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 27 minutes each way, longer than most of Michigan
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Athens Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,091 commuters (the 8% 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.
How far it is to work from Athens Township
About 26% 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.
Most trips from Athens Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Athens Township is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Athens Township near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,183 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.9% of Athens Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Athens Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Athens Township is 1,622nd of 5,207 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,300 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 138 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,620 | Verona Walk FL | 2,695 | $66K | 1.1% | 2.8% | 1% | B |
| 1,621 | Glasgow MT | 3,145 | $90K | 8.0% | 0.5% | 52% | B |
| 1,622 | Athens Township MI | 2,458 | $63K | 5.4% | 2.0% | 7% | B |
| 1,623 | Whitefield ME | 2,410 | $74K | 7.1% | 1.3% | 3% | B |
| 1,624 | Shutesbury MA | 1,705 | $123K | 3.3% | 6.0% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,207 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Athens Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
How Athens Township compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Burlington Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Athens Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athens Township | – | B | C− | 27 min | $62,841 |
| Sherwood Township | under 2% | C | D− | 35 min | $64,531 |
| Leroy Township | under 2% | A− | C− | 20 min | $81,638 |
| Wakeshma Township | under 2% | B | C− | 29 min | $77,917 |
| Burlington Township | 2% | C+ | C | 32 min | $74,167 |
| Climax Township | under 2% | B | C− | 27 min | $75,625 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Athens 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 Athens Township: questions
What is the median household income in Athens Township?
$62,841 (±$11,431) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Athens Township?
5.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Athens Township?
27 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Athens Township work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Battle Creek (18%, 12 mi), Emmett Township (6%, 13 mi), Coldwater (6%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Athens Township walkable?
Athens Township is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Athens Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Athens Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Athens 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.