Households in Brown City earn less than those in 76% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 18.6% of residents, next to 13.2% across Michigan. The two grades for Brown City are D for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in ten stay in Brown City for work; outside it, Marlette is the main destination (6%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Brown City and work: the main findings
Brown City workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Brown City has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Brown City went from 331 in 2011 to 460 in 2021, +39%. The jobs ↓
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 387 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Income, poverty and work: Brown City’s grade explained
On income, poverty and job access, Brown City is better than 8% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Brown City’s grade.
Unemployment (9.9%) is left out: Brown City’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, Brown City could be anywhere from D− to C−.
The trip to work from Brown City: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brown City workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 429 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.
Inside Brown City’s 460 jobs
460 jobs are based in Brown City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brown City, 2011 → 2021: 331 → 460. 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 Brown City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Brown City: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 342 residents head out to work, 45 work right here, and 415 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.19 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.
Where the trip to work from Brown City ends
Where Brown City 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.
Where in the region Brown City works
About 22% 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.
Getting around Brown City: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Brown City is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.8% across Michigan.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 459 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). 8.0% of Brown City households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Brown City’s commuters take a bus or train.
Brown City next to U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700: 4,135th of 4,866 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 124 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 151 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 175 | Sylvan Lake MI | 1,685 | $106K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,133 | Joanna SC | 1,306 | $49K | 20.5% | 1.4% | 1% | D |
| 4,134 | Livermore KY | 1,197 | $40K | 20.9% | 5.5% | 4% | D |
| 4,135 | Brown City MI | 1,280 | $59K | 18.6% | 9.9% | 12% | D |
| 4,136 | Bradford TN | 1,006 | $47K | 24.0% | 0.0% | 7% | D |
| 4,137 | Wellington UT | 1,606 | $61K | 18.8% | 5.6% | 3% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | 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 Brown City, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Brown City and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Maple Valley Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Brown City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown City | – | D | B | 32 min | $58,750 |
| Maple Valley Township | 3% | D | C+ | 36 min | $60,938 |
| Burnside Township | under 2% | C+ | D | 33 min | $75,833 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Brown City’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 Brown City: questions
What is the median household income in Brown City?
$58,750 (±$13,756) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brown City?
18.6%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brown City?
32 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brown City work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marlette (6%, 9 mi), Flynn Township (4%, 6 mi), Port Huron (3%, 32 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Brown City walkable?
Brown City is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brown City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brown City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brown City
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.