Photo: Protopian Pickle Jar · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer people are out of work in Bear Creek Township (2.4%) than in 79% of U.S. towns
Bear Creek Township grades B− for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in seven work in Bear Creek Township itself; outside it, Petoskey draws the most (28%, 3 miles). The trip to work takes 20 minutes on average, next to 24 for Michigan and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Bear Creek Township
Bear Creek Township trades workers with the towns around it
Bear Creek Township has about as many jobs (2,718) as working residents (2,501), but they are mostly different people: 2,161 residents leave for work each day while 2,378 people come in. Only 13% of the jobs in Bear Creek Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Bear Creek Township works one town over
38% of working residents work in a town that borders Bear Creek Township: Petoskey (28%), Little Traverse Township (6%) and Resort Township (4%). Next door ↓
Most Bear Creek Township residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Bear Creek Township: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bear Creek Township is better than 50% of U.S. towns, #402 of 701 in Michigan. Unemployment holds Bear Creek Township’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down.
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 fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bear Creek Township could be anywhere from C− to B+.
The daily flow of workers through Bear Creek Township
On a workday 2,161 residents head out to work, 340 work right here, and 2,378 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 (1.09 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.
The commute from Bear Creek Township, by distance
About 23% 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.
The towns that employ Bear Creek Township’s residents
Where Bear Creek Township clocks in
28% 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.
Inside Bear Creek Township’s 2,718 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bear Creek Township, 2011 → 2021: 3,171 → 2,718. 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 Bear Creek Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Bear Creek Township’s commute 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 Bear Creek Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,712 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.
Few in Bear Creek Township walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bear Creek Township is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns, #165 of 701 in Michigan. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 6.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 6.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,943 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). 11.6% of Bear Creek Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Bear Creek Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Bear Creek Township is 1,794th among 3,218 U.S. towns of 4,600 to 8,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 102 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,792 | Glencoe AL | 5,426 | $69K | 10.6% | 3.2% | 4% | B− |
| 1,793 | Prospect Park PA | 6,409 | $63K | 9.2% | 6.6% | 3% | B− |
| 1,794 | Bear Creek Township MI | 6,513 | $71K | 9.9% | 2.4% | 14% | B− |
| 1,795 | Scott Township PA | 5,652 | $85K | 6.3% | 7.1% | 7% | B− |
| 1,796 | North Manchester IN | 5,230 | $61K | 10.7% | 1.8% | 32% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,218 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Bear Creek Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Bordering towns draw 38% of Bear Creek Township’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bear Creek Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Creek Township | – | B− | B | 20 min | $71,090 |
| Petoskey | 28% | B | A | 15 min | $74,196 |
| Springvale Township | under 2% | B | D | 26 min | $102,083 |
| Melrose Township | under 2% | B+ | B− | 21 min | $97,059 |
| Resort Township | 4% | B+ | B− | 20 min | $103,929 |
| Little Traverse Township | 6% | B+ | C | 18 min | $88,368 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Petoskey. Darker towns draw more of Bear Creek 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 Bear Creek Township: questions
What is the median household income in Bear Creek Township?
$71,090 (±$13,375) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bear Creek Township?
9.9%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bear Creek Township?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bear Creek Township work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Petoskey (28%, 3 mi), Little Traverse Township (6%, 6 mi), Resort Township (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Bear Creek Township walkable?
Bear Creek Township is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bear Creek Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bear Creek Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bear Creek 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.