Photo: JDNorry · CC BY-SA 3.0At 2.2%, unemployment in Buchanan is lower than in 82% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Buchanan are B for jobs and income and B for walkability. 4% of workers have no commute at all, next to 14% for Michigan as a whole. Household incomes here are lower than in 80% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Buchanan at work: what stands out
Buchanan trades workers with the towns around it
Buchanan has about as many jobs (1,492) as working residents (1,764), but they are mostly different people: 1,568 residents leave for work each day while 1,296 people come in. Only 13% of the jobs in Buchanan are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Buchanan workers cross into Indiana
22% of Buchanan workers work outside Michigan, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, South Bend (10%) and Mishawaka (4%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
Few Buchanan workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Buchanan 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. Time on the road ↓
Buchanan has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Buchanan went from 1,107 in 2011 to 1,492 in 2021, +35%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Buchanan
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Buchanan is better than 63% of U.S. towns, #298 of 701 in Michigan. Unemployment holds Buchanan’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($56,163, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and 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 could be anywhere from C to A−.
Buchanan by day and by night
On a workday 1,568 residents head out to work, 196 work right here, and 1,296 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 (0.85 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.
10% of working residents work in South Bend
Where Buchanan clocks in
10% of workers
7% 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.
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 Buchanan workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,091 commuters (the 4% 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.
Jobs in Buchanan: what the 1,492 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Buchanan, 2011 → 2021: 1,107 → 1,492. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Buchanan
About 23% 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.
In Buchanan, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Buchanan is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #171 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Buchanan 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 2,183 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). 7.0% of Buchanan households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Buchanan’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Buchanan is 1,561st of 4,112 U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,600
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 123 | Ann Arbor Township MI | 4,506 | $165K | 7.2% | 0.5% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,559 | Harrington DE | 3,974 | $73K | 6.9% | 2.9% | 8% | B |
| 1,560 | Forsyth IL | 3,613 | $112K | 11.3% | 4.6% | 5% | B |
| 1,561 | Buchanan MI | 4,143 | $56K | 7.1% | 2.2% | 11% | B |
| 1,562 | South Toms River NJ | 3,895 | $104K | 7.3% | 8.0% | 2% | B |
| 1,563 | Jackson Township OH | 3,138 | $88K | 8.5% | 3.7% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,112 | 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, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
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: questions
What is the median household income in Buchanan?
$56,163 (±$8,947) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Buchanan?
7.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Buchanan?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Buchanan work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are South Bend (10%, 12 mi), Niles (7%, 6 mi), Niles Township (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Buchanan walkable?
Buchanan is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Buchanan without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Buchanan, from the people who make the trip.
More of Buchanan
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.