Hardy Hydroelectric Plant · Photo: Larry Pieniazek, Lar (commons) or User:Lar (wikipedia) · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Big Prairie Township works elsewhere
The two grades for Big Prairie Township are D− for jobs and income and D for walkability. There are 81 jobs in Big Prairie Township; 871 of its residents have a job. Household incomes here are lower than in 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Big Prairie Township, in brief
Big Prairie Township is a place people come home to
There are 81 jobs based in Big Prairie Township, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Big Prairie Township has about 1,800 people in it, 31% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Big Prairie Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Big Prairie Township is Grand Rapids, 38 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (105) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Big Prairie Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 107 more than the state’s typical 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; with 871 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Big Prairie Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Big Prairie Township is better than 4% of U.S. towns, #691 of 701 in Michigan. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Big Prairie Township’s grade.
Unemployment (7.0%) is left out: Big Prairie Township’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
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 and poverty, Big Prairie Township could be anywhere from D− to D.
Big Prairie Township on a workday afternoon
On a workday 853 residents head out to work, 18 work right here, and 63 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Big Prairie Township on a workday afternoon, 31% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Big Prairie Township
About 20% 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.
Big Prairie Township’s commute takes about 38 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Big Prairie Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 883 commuters (the 2% 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.
12% of working residents work in Grand Rapids
Where Big Prairie Township clocks in
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.
What Big Prairie Township’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Prairie Township, 2011 → 2021: 218 → 81. 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 Big Prairie Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute in Big Prairie Township is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Big Prairie Township is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns, #575 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Big Prairie 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 899 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). 7.4% of Big Prairie Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Big Prairie Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Big Prairie Township compares with U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,500
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 136 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 230 | Milton Township MI | 3,187 | $119K | 3.2% | 2.3% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,791 | Seymour TX | 2,574 | $40K | 28.2% | 5.2% | 34% | D− |
| 4,792 | Adams WI | 1,803 | $43K | 25.7% | 5.6% | 14% | D− |
| 4,793 | Big Prairie Township MI | 2,569 | $53K | 22.1% | 7.0% | 2% | D− |
| 4,794 | Central Heights-Midland City AZ | 2,909 | $61K | 22.5% | 11.9% | 1% | D− |
| 4,795 | Fort Hall ID | 2,654 | $45K | 22.6% | 13.3% | 39% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | 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 Big Prairie Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
The towns around Big Prairie Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Big Prairie Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Prairie Township | – | D− | D | 38 min | $53,289 |
| Everett Township | under 2% | D | D | 31 min | $56,875 |
| Croton Township | under 2% | C+ | D | 38 min | $76,765 |
| Aetna Township | under 2% | D | B− | 39 min | $62,813 |
| Goodwell Township | under 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Goodwell Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Big Prairie 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 Big Prairie Township: questions
What is the median household income in Big Prairie Township?
$53,289 (±$5,880) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Prairie Township?
22.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Big Prairie Township?
38 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Big Prairie Township work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (12%, 38 mi), Newaygo (8%, 12 mi), White Cloud (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Big Prairie Township walkable?
Big Prairie Township is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Big Prairie Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big Prairie Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Prairie 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.