With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Branch Township works elsewhere
The two grades for Branch Township are D for jobs and income and C for walkability. 34 jobs are based in Branch Township for 459 working residents. Only 2% work in Branch Township; the top destination outside it is Ludington (15%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Branch Township and work: the main findings
Branch Township is a place people come home to
There are 34 jobs based in Branch Township, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Branch Township has about 990 people in it, 30% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
41% 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 ↓
Branch Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 46 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 459 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The figures behind Branch Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Branch Township is better than 11% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Branch Township’s grade up (14.4%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 4% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (7.1%) is left out: Branch 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, Branch Township could be anywhere from D to C−.
Who commutes out of Branch Township, and who commutes in
On a workday 450 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 25 people come in from elsewhere.
About 990 people are in Branch Township on a workday afternoon, 30% 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.
How many miles Branch Township commutes
About 41% 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 30 minutes each way, longer than most of Michigan
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Branch Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 489 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.
Commuting out of Branch Township: the destinations
Where Branch Township clocks in
Lines 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.
In Branch Township, 35% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Branch Township, 2011 → 2021: 55 → 34. 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 Branch Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Branch Township is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Branch Township is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns. 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 4.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 525 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). 6.1% of Branch Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Branch Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Branch Township is 4,753rd among 5,877 U.S. towns of 1,000 to 1,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 152 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 187 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,751 | McMechen WV | 1,605 | $40K | 27.5% | 7.5% | 2% | D |
| 4,752 | Washburn ME | 1,499 | $56K | 12.7% | 7.4% | 9% | D |
| 4,753 | Branch Township MI | 1,413 | $62K | 14.4% | 7.1% | 2% | D |
| 4,754 | Sebastian TX | 1,021 | $23K | 38.0% | 12.6% | <1% | D |
| 4,755 | Raven VA | 1,345 | $53K | 12.8% | 9.6% | 2% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,877 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Branch Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
How Branch Township compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Branch Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branch Township | – | D | C | 30 min | $61,886 |
| Logan Township | under 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| Sheridan Township | under 2% | D | D− | 29 min | $61,563 |
| Custer Township | 2% | C | C− | 21 min | $56,172 |
| Sweetwater Township | under 2% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Sauble Township | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Logan Township, Sweetwater Township and Sauble Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Custer Township. Darker towns draw more of Branch 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 Branch Township: questions
What is the median household income in Branch Township?
$61,886 (±$2,660) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Branch Township?
14.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Branch Township?
30 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Branch Township work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ludington (15%, 17 mi), Pere Marquette Township (9%, 16 mi), Grand Rapids (5%, 72 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Branch Township walkable?
Branch Township is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.1 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Branch 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 Branch Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Branch 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.