Most of Carleton commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
The two grades for Carleton are A− for jobs and income and C for walkability. Carleton has 206 jobs, and 873 of its residents work somewhere. Only 1% stay in Carleton for work; outside it, Ash Township is the main destination (7%, 1 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Carleton at work: what stands out
Carleton is a place people come home to
There are 206 jobs based in Carleton, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Carleton has about 1,600 people in it, 29% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Carleton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 54 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 873 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Carleton
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Carleton is better than 78% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Carleton’s grade up (2.1%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($73,365, 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 fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Carleton could be anywhere from B− to A+.
How many people are in Carleton by day
On a workday 860 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 193 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Carleton on a workday afternoon, 29% 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.
Each way, about 31 minutes from Carleton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Carleton workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,077 commuters (the 8% 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.
Where Carleton’s working residents head each day
Where Carleton clocks in
6% 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 kinds of work in Carleton
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Carleton, 2011 → 2021: 243 → 206. 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 Carleton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Carleton
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 commute in Carleton is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Carleton is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Carleton 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 1,165 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). 1.4% of Carleton households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Carleton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Carleton places 824th of 5,328 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 134 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 216 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 822 | Baden MD | 2,325 | $151K | 2.2% | 7.5% | 1% | A− |
| 823 | San Antonio FL | 1,603 | $94K | 5.0% | 3.9% | 1% | A− |
| 824 | Carleton MI | 2,302 | $73K | 7.6% | 2.1% | 1% | A− |
| 825 | Chickamauga GA | 3,017 | $93K | 4.8% | 1.7% | 5% | A− |
| 826 | Coe Township IL | 1,759 | $128K | 2.7% | 5.4% | 6% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Carleton, 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 Carleton: questions
What is the median household income in Carleton?
$73,365 (±$9,477) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Carleton?
7.6%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Carleton?
31 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Carleton work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ash Township (7%, 1 mi), Romulus (6%, 11 mi), Monroe (5%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Carleton walkable?
Carleton is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Carleton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Carleton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Carleton
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.