Photo: brewbooks · CC BY-SA 2.0Jobs, income and commuting in Big Rapids Township, MI
6% of workers work from home (Michigan 14%). The two grades for Big Rapids Township are C+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Only 7% work in Big Rapids Township itself; outside it, Big Rapids draws the most (24%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Big Rapids Township, in brief
Stores, warehouses and trucking
50% of the jobs in Big Rapids Township are in trade, transport and utilities, against 16% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Big Rapids Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Big Rapids Township went from 1,286 in 2011 to 1,774 in 2021, +38%. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
35% 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 ↓
Commutes from Big Rapids Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker, and quicker than any town next door (23 to 36 minutes). 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Big Rapids Township’s Jobs & income grade
On family income, poverty and job access, Big Rapids Township is better than 40% of U.S. towns, #490 of 701 in Michigan. Family income holds Big Rapids Township’s grade up ($92,930, U.S. $99,999); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 28% of U.S. towns).
18% of Big Rapids Township’s residents are college students, and off-campus students count in the Census poverty figures. Where students are 15% or more of the people the Census checks for poverty (19% here), the grade uses the rate without them: 9.8%, against 20.0% for all residents. Unemployment (2.5%) is left out here: students looking for part-time work count as unemployed. Income is ranked as median family income ($92,930), since student households pull the household median down ($64,083).
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 family income and poverty, Big Rapids Township could be anywhere from D to B+.
Jobs in Big Rapids Township: what the 1,774 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Rapids Township, 2011 → 2021: 1,286 → 1,774. 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 Rapids Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Big Rapids Township
About 35% 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.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of Michigan
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Big Rapids Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,789 commuters (the 7% 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.
Who works in Big Rapids Township, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,267 residents head out to work, 99 work right here, and 1,675 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,500 people are in Big Rapids Township on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.30 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.
Out of Big Rapids Township to work: where people go
Where Big Rapids Township clocks in
24% 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.
Big Rapids Township is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Big Rapids Township is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns, #276 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Big Rapids 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 1,914 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 18% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 42% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.0% of Big Rapids Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Big Rapids Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Big Rapids Township next to U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,500: 2,497th of 4,023 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 121 | Ann Arbor Township MI | 4,506 | $165K | 7.2% | 0.5% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,495 | Portage Township MI | 3,234 | $67K | 8.6% | 3.2% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,496 | Cloverdale Township IN | 4,084 | $66K | 10.6% | 4.0% | 7% | C+ |
| 2,497 | Big Rapids Township MI | 4,096 | $64K | 20.0% | 2.5% | 7% | C+ |
| 2,498 | Newfield NY | 4,832 | $74K | 8.9% | 5.1% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,499 | Hill 'n Dale FL | 3,083 | $58K | 10.1% | 2.5% | 2% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,023 | 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 Big Rapids Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Around Big Rapids Township: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Mecosta Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Big Rapids Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Rapids Township | – | C+ | B− | 19 min | $64,083 |
| Colfax Township | under 2% | B− | C | 23 min | $87,935 |
| Mecosta Township | 2% | C | C | 25 min | $61,250 |
| Norwich Township | under 2% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Green Township | under 2% | C | D | 23 min | $82,955 |
Same-state neighbors only. Norwich Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Big Rapids 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.
- Students. 18% of residents are college students; the poverty input leaves off-campus students out (above).
- 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 Rapids Township: questions
What is the median household income in Big Rapids Township?
$64,083 (±$6,266) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Rapids Township?
20.0% of residents live below the poverty line; leaving out college students, 9.8%. Michigan: 13.2%.
How long is the commute from Big Rapids Township?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Big Rapids Township work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Big Rapids (24%, 2 mi), Grand Rapids (9%, 50 mi), Reed City (3%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Big Rapids Township walkable?
Big Rapids Township is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Big Rapids Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big Rapids Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big Rapids 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.