South Berrien Center Union Church and Cemetery · Photo: Fotoguy49057 · Public domainBerrien Township has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
Employers in Berrien Township report 415 jobs; 1,951 of its residents have a job. Berrien Township grades B for jobs and income and C for walkability. Only 4% work in Berrien Township itself; outside it, Oronoko Township draws the most (16%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Berrien Township, in a few figures
Fewer jobs are based in Berrien Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Berrien Township fell from 666 in 2011 to 415 in 2021, −38%. 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 ↓
Berrien Township is a place people come home to
There are 415 jobs based in Berrien Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Berrien Township has about 3,300 people in it, 32% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Berrien Township’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Berrien Township is better than 57% of U.S. towns, #343 of 701 in Michigan. Unemployment holds Berrien Township’s grade up (2.4%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (14.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income 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 fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Berrien Township could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
The kinds of work in Berrien Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Berrien Township, 2011 → 2021: 666 → 415. 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 Berrien Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Berrien Township
On a workday 1,869 residents head out to work, 82 work right here, and 333 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,300 people are in Berrien Township on a workday afternoon, 32% 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.
Where Berrien Township goes to work
Where Berrien Township clocks in
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.
Commuting from Berrien Township: about 24 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Berrien Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,936 commuters (the 15% 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.
Half of Berrien Township commutes less than 14 miles
About 24% 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 commute in Berrien Township is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Berrien Township is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns, #407 of 701 in Michigan. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 4.5.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,271 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). 6.2% of Berrien Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Berrien Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,400 to 6,500, Berrien Township ranks 1,742nd of 3,753 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 122 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,740 | Fairfield Township OH | 3,653 | $73K | 7.0% | 2.1% | 6% | B |
| 1,741 | Poland ME | 6,098 | $86K | 16.6% | 2.3% | 8% | B |
| 1,742 | Berrien Township MI | 4,787 | $79K | 14.4% | 2.4% | 4% | B |
| 1,743 | Norwalk Township OH | 3,429 | $62K | 5.3% | 3.7% | 3% | B |
| 1,744 | Buffalo Township PA | 3,546 | $67K | 10.4% | 0.1% | 5% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,753 | 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 Berrien Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door is work for 19% of Berrien Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Berrien Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berrien Township | – | B | C | 24 min | $79,148 |
| Oronoko Township | 16% | C+ | A− | 20 min | $60,175 |
| Pipestone Township | under 3% | B− | D | 22 min | $72,533 |
| Berrien Springs | under 3% | C | A | 18 min | $65,134 |
| Pokagon Township | under 3% | B− | B− | 23 min | $72,022 |
| Niles Township | 3% | C+ | C− | 23 min | $63,459 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Oronoko Township. Darker towns draw more of Berrien 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 Berrien Township: questions
What is the median household income in Berrien Township?
$79,148 (±$11,872) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Berrien Township?
14.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Berrien Township?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Berrien Township work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Oronoko Township (16%, 6 mi), Benton Township (6%, 13 mi), South Bend (5%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Berrien Township walkable?
Berrien Township is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Berrien Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Berrien Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Berrien 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.