Photo: Humbles Art · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Benton Harbor (21.6%) is among the highest in the country
Jobs & income D: better than 7% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #683 of 701 in Michigan.
Walkability A−: more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns · #89 of 701 in Michigan.
Household incomes here are among the lowest in the country. Working residents average 18 minutes each way (Michigan 24, U.S. 26). Only 7% work in Benton Harbor; the top destination outside it is Benton Township (17%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Benton Harbor, in brief
Fewer than half of Benton Harbor workers earn over $40,000 a year
31% of Benton Harbor’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 28% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Benton Harbor than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Benton Harbor fell from 2,942 in 2011 to 1,716 in 2021, −42%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
A lot of Benton Harbor works one town over
28% of working residents work in a town that borders Benton Harbor: Benton Township (17%), St. Joseph (7%) and St. Joseph Township (4%). Next door ↓
Commutes from Benton Harbor are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
What’s behind Benton Harbor’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Benton Harbor is better than 7% of U.S. towns, #683 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Benton Harbor’s grade up (ahead of 60% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (21.6%, U.S. 5.2%).
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, Benton Harbor stays D.
What the 1,716 jobs in Benton Harbor are
1,716 jobs are based in Benton Harbor. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Benton Harbor’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Benton Harbor, 2011 → 2021: 2,942 → 1,716. 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.
About 18 minutes each way, quicker than most of Michigan
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Benton Harbor workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,809 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Benton Harbor quiets down on a workday
On a workday 2,653 residents head out to work, 210 work right here, and 1,506 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,700 people are in Benton Harbor on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.60 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
17% of working residents work in Benton Township
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Benton Harbor clocks in
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Half of Benton Harbor commutes less than 12 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 31% 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.
Benton Harbor is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Benton Harbor is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #89 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Benton Harbor 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 2,981 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). 28.4% of Benton Harbor households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Benton Harbor’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Benton Harbor compares with U.S. towns of 6,200 to 11,900
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Benton Harbor, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,788 | Arcadia FL | 8,046 | $40K | 31.8% | 5.7% | 19% | D |
| 2,789 | Crowley LA | 11,223 | $29K | 47.7% | 14.3% | 29% | D |
| 2,790 | Benton Harbor MI | 8,803 | $31K | 40.1% | 21.6% | 7% | D |
| 2,791 | Idabel OK | 6,934 | $43K | 25.1% | 5.4% | 31% | D |
| 2,792 | Calumet Township MI | 6,309 | $53K | 16.4% | 7.5% | 30% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | 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.
28% of Benton Harbor works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Benton Township (17%). Darker towns draw more of Benton Harbor’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Benton Harbor workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Harbor | – | D | A− | 18 min | $31,117 |
| Benton Township | 17% | D | B− | 18 min | $38,688 |
| Benton Heights | under 2% | — | — | 15 min | — |
| St. Joseph | 7% | A− | A | 20 min | $84,057 |
| Fair Plain | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| St. Joseph Township | 4% | B− | B | 19 min | $94,926 |
Same-state neighbors only. Benton Heights and Fair Plain: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Benton Harbor: questions
What is the median household income in Benton Harbor?
$31,117 (±$4,857) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Benton Harbor?
40.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Benton Harbor?
18 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Benton Harbor work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Benton Township (17%, 3 mi), Lincoln Township (8%, 7 mi), St. Joseph (7%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Benton Harbor walkable?
Benton Harbor is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Benton Harbor without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 28% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Benton Harbor, from the people who make the trip.
More of Benton Harbor
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.