Photo: JDNorry · CC BY-SA 3.0With 0.1 jobs for every working resident, most of Buchanan Township works elsewhere
Employers in Buchanan Township report 196 jobs; 1,413 of its residents have a job. Buchanan Township grades B− for jobs and income and D for walkability. For 24% of workers, the job is at home, where Michigan as a whole has 14%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Buchanan Township, in a few figures
Fewer jobs are based in Buchanan Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Buchanan Township fell from 392 in 2011 to 196 in 2021, −50%. 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 ↓
Buchanan Township is a place people come home to
There are 196 jobs based in Buchanan Township, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Buchanan Township has about 2,300 people in it, 35% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Buchanan Township workers cross into Indiana
21% of Buchanan Township workers work outside Michigan, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, South Bend (9%) and Mishawaka (4%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
A lot of Buchanan Township works from home
24% of Buchanan Township workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. 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.
The figures behind Buchanan Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Buchanan Township is better than 53% of U.S. towns, #382 of 701 in Michigan. The poverty rate holds Buchanan Township’s grade up (5.1%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down (5.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on job access by car.
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, Buchanan Township could be anywhere from C to A−.
Jobs in Buchanan Township: what the 196 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Buchanan Township, 2011 → 2021: 392 → 196. 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 Buchanan Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Buchanan Township on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,357 residents head out to work, 56 work right here, and 140 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Buchanan 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.
9% of working residents work in South Bend
Where Buchanan Township clocks in
9% of workers
9% of workers
5% 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.
The trip to work from Buchanan Township: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Buchanan Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,253 commuters (the 24% 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.
Half of Buchanan Township commutes less than 15 miles
About 24% 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.
Driving is how Buchanan Township gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Buchanan Township is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns, #624 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Buchanan 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 1,638 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). 2.7% of Buchanan Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Buchanan Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Buchanan Township places 2,140th of 4,535 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 125 | Ann Arbor Township MI | 4,506 | $165K | 7.2% | 0.5% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 146 | Dexter MI | 4,461 | $107K | 0.8% | 2.1% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,138 | Norwood Young America MN | 3,777 | $71K | 11.4% | 3.7% | 10% | B− |
| 2,139 | Canton NC | 4,418 | $70K | 15.0% | 1.8% | 12% | B− |
| 2,140 | Buchanan Township MI | 3,475 | $67K | 5.1% | 5.5% | 4% | B− |
| 2,141 | Palmyra Township PA | 3,391 | $66K | 6.1% | 2.7% | 12% | B− |
| 2,142 | Blountville TN | 3,309 | $55K | 8.3% | 3.2% | 7% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,535 | 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 Buchanan Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
How Buchanan Township compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Niles Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Buchanan Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan Township | – | B− | D | 22 min | $66,783 |
| Oronoko Township | 3% | C+ | A− | 20 min | $60,175 |
| Bertrand Township | under 3% | A− | D | 24 min | $100,735 |
| Niles Township | 5% | C+ | C− | 23 min | $63,459 |
| Weesaw Township | under 3% | C | C | 22 min | $58,077 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Buchanan 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 Buchanan Township: questions
What is the median household income in Buchanan Township?
$66,783 (±$6,677) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Buchanan Township?
5.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Buchanan Township?
22 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Buchanan Township work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are South Bend (9%, 14 mi), Buchanan (9%, 2 mi), Niles Township (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Buchanan Township walkable?
Buchanan Township is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.1 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Buchanan Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Buchanan Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Buchanan 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.