Most of Carlton Township commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Carlton Township has 198 jobs, and 1,072 of its residents work somewhere. For jobs and income Carlton Township is better than 59% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is near the bottom of U.S. towns (D−). Only 1% work in Carlton Township itself; outside it, Grand Rapids draws the most (12%, 26 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Carlton Township
Carlton Township is a place people come home to
There are 198 jobs based in Carlton Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Carlton Township has about 1,600 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Carlton Township 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. Every town next door averages less (22 to 27 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Carlton Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Carlton Township is Grand Rapids, 26 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (127) 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 Carlton Township earns its Jobs & income grade
All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Carlton Township’s grade. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
Unemployment (3.9%) is left out: Carlton Township’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 rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Carlton Township could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
How a workday changes Carlton Township
On a workday 1,057 residents head out to work, 15 work right here, and 183 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Carlton Township on a workday afternoon, 36% 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.
About 32 minutes each way for Carlton Township’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Carlton Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 752 commuters (the 12% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Carlton Township
About 15% 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 Carlton Township’s residents
Where Carlton 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.
Making and building: 35% of jobs based in Carlton Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Carlton Township, 2011 → 2021: 106 → 198. 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 Carlton Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most trips from Carlton Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Carlton Township is near the bottom of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Carlton 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 850 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). 1.2% of Carlton Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Carlton Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Carlton Township is 1,781st among 5,207 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,300
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 138 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,779 | Elba NY | 2,135 | $92K | 8.2% | 4.3% | 4% | B |
| 1,780 | Monroe Township OH | 2,733 | $90K | 2.6% | 6.9% | 3% | B |
| 1,781 | Carlton Township MI | 2,429 | $83K | 8.7% | 3.9% | 1% | B |
| 1,782 | Hamlin Township MI | 3,238 | $92K | 1.9% | 10.0% | 2% | B |
| 1,783 | South Bloomfield Township OH | 1,913 | $87K | 8.2% | 3.5% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,207 | 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 Carlton Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Carlton Township and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Irving Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Carlton Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlton Township | – | B | D− | 32 min | $82,875 |
| Irving Township | 3% | B+ | D | 27 min | $76,367 |
| Woodland Township | under 3% | B− | B− | 25 min | $74,489 |
| Hastings Township | under 3% | C+ | B− | 22 min | $78,538 |
| Campbell Township | under 3% | A− | C | 27 min | $85,128 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Carlton 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 Carlton Township: questions
What is the median household income in Carlton Township?
$82,875 (±$16,372) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Carlton Township?
8.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Carlton Township?
32 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Carlton Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (12%, 26 mi), Hastings (8%, 5 mi), Thornapple Township (7%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Carlton Township walkable?
Carlton Township is near the bottom of U.S. towns (Walkability D−): an EPA walkability index of 2.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Carlton Township 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 Carlton Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Carlton 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.