Spectacle Reef Light Station · Public domainBenton Township has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each
The two grades for Benton Township are C− for jobs and income and D− for walkability. 136 jobs are based in Benton Township, and 1,064 of its residents work somewhere. Only 1% work in Benton Township itself; outside it, Cheboygan draws the most (23%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Benton Township at work: what stands out
Benton Township is a place people come home to
There are 136 jobs based in Benton Township, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Benton Township has about 2,200 people in it, 29% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Benton Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker, and quicker than any town next door (20 to 37 minutes). Time on the road ↓
A lot of Benton Township works one town over
31% of working residents work in a town that borders Benton Township: Cheboygan (23%), Inverness Township (6%) and Grant Township (2%). Next door ↓
Fewer than half of Benton Township workers earn over $40,000 a year
42% of Benton Township’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 21% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
36% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. 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.
Inside Benton Township’s Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate holds Benton Township’s grade up (10.3%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 3% of U.S. towns).
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, Benton Township could be anywhere from D to B−.
Who leaves Benton Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,049 residents head out to work, 15 work right here, and 121 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Benton Township on a workday afternoon, 29% 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 trip to work from Benton Township: about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Benton Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,230 commuters (the 16% 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.
Goods jobs make up 35% of work in Benton Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Benton Township, 2011 → 2021: 113 → 136. 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 Benton Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Benton Township
About 36% 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.
Where people from Benton Township work
Where Benton Township clocks in
23% of workers
5% 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.
Most of Benton Township commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Benton Township is more walkable than 3% of U.S. towns, #680 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Benton 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 1,460 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). 1.0% of Benton Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Benton Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
3,591st of 4,698: where Benton Township ranks among U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 139 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 155 | Lima Township MI | 4,215 | $119K | 1.5% | 2.1% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,589 | Early TX | 3,117 | $67K | 10.6% | 7.6% | 7% | C− |
| 3,590 | Union Township IN | 2,887 | $56K | 23.5% | 2.5% | 38% | C− |
| 3,591 | Benton Township MI | 3,158 | $68K | 10.3% | 5.3% | 1% | C− |
| 3,592 | Kings Bay Base GA | 2,210 | $78K | 21.2% | 28.7% | 0% | C− |
| 3,593 | Agua Dulce TX | 2,697 | $47K | 20.4% | 5.4% | 1% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Benton Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Bordering towns draw 31% of Benton Township’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Benton Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Township | – | C− | D− | 15 min | $68,401 |
| Inverness Township | 6% | C− | D | 20 min | $56,141 |
| Cheboygan | 23% | D− | A− | 22 min | $42,290 |
| Grant Township | 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Aloha Township | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Bearinger Township | under 2% | — | — | 37 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Grant Township and Bearinger Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Aloha Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Cheboygan. Darker towns draw more of Benton 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 Benton Township: questions
What is the median household income in Benton Township?
$68,401 (±$5,014) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Benton Township?
10.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Benton Township?
15 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Benton Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cheboygan (23%, 5 mi), Inverness Township (6%, 8 mi), Petoskey (5%, 33 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Benton Township walkable?
Benton Township is more walkable than 3% of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 4.0 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Benton Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Benton Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Benton 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.