Most of Brooks Township commutes out: there are 0.1 jobs for every working resident
218 jobs are based in Brooks Township; 1,547 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Brooks Township are B− for jobs and income and D for walkability. Only 1% work in Brooks Township itself; outside it, Grand Rapids draws the most (13%, 32 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Brooks Township and work: the main findings
Fewer jobs are based in Brooks Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Brooks Township fell from 815 in 2011 to 218 in 2021, −73%. 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 ↓
Brooks Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 77 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Brooks Township is a place people come home to
There are 218 jobs based in Brooks Township, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Brooks Township has about 2,500 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Brooks Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Brooks Township is Grand Rapids, 32 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (194) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Brooks Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Brooks Township is better than 48% of U.S. towns, #413 of 701 in Michigan. Unemployment holds Brooks Township’s grade up (3.3%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 14% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
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, Brooks Township could be anywhere from C− to A−.
Brooks Township is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brooks Township, 2011 → 2021: 815 → 218. 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 Brooks Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 34 minutes each way for Brooks Township’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brooks Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,698 commuters (the 10% 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.
How a workday changes Brooks Township
On a workday 1,531 residents head out to work, 16 work right here, and 202 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Brooks Township on a workday afternoon, 35% 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.
Half of Brooks Township commutes less than 28 miles
About 16% 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 towns that employ Brooks Township’s residents
Where Brooks 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.
The commute in Brooks Township is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Brooks Township is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns, #633 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Brooks 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 1,897 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). 0.5% of Brooks Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Brooks Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Brooks Township is 2,253rd of 4,264 U.S. towns of 2,700 to 5,200
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 114 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | Ann Arbor Township MI | 4,506 | $165K | 7.2% | 0.5% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,251 | Vermilion Township OH | 4,741 | $73K | 5.9% | 7.9% | 5% | B− |
| 2,252 | Lakeview Estates GA | 3,596 | $47K | 32.1% | 0.4% | <1% | B− |
| 2,253 | Brooks Township MI | 3,833 | $78K | 7.7% | 3.3% | 1% | B− |
| 2,254 | East Quincy CA | 2,723 | $70K | 5.6% | 2.9% | 28% | B− |
| 2,255 | Melwood MD | 3,401 | $81K | 12.8% | 8.6% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,264 | 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 Brooks Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
The towns around Brooks Township
The biggest share goes to Newaygo (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Brooks Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooks Township | – | B− | D | 34 min | $77,734 |
| Newaygo | 9% | D− | B | 28 min | $40,689 |
| Everett Township | under 2% | D | D | 31 min | $56,875 |
| Garfield Township | under 2% | B | C | 35 min | $84,688 |
| Croton Township | under 2% | C+ | D | 38 min | $76,765 |
| Grant Township | under 2% | C+ | C− | 29 min | $73,500 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Brooks 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 Brooks Township: questions
What is the median household income in Brooks Township?
$77,734 (±$17,126) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brooks Township?
7.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brooks Township?
34 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brooks Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (13%, 32 mi), Newaygo (9%, 4 mi), Walker (4%, 30 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Brooks Township walkable?
Brooks Township is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brooks Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brooks Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brooks 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.