Photo: kennethaw88 · CC BY 4.0Households in Caro earn less than those in 95% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 4% of workers (Michigan 14%). Below the poverty line: 28.7% of residents, where Michigan as a whole has 13.2%. For jobs and income Caro is better than 4% of U.S. towns (D−); for walkability it is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Caro, in brief
Caro is where the jobs are
Caro has 3,320 jobs, 2.3 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 6,200 people are in town, 44% more than the 4,300 who live here. Day and night ↓
Few Caro 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 Caro 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 ↓
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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Caro
Job access by car holds Caro’s grade up (ahead of 28% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
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, Caro could be anywhere from D− to C.
Who commutes out of Caro, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,128 residents head out to work, 300 work right here, and 3,020 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,200 people are in Caro on a workday afternoon, 44% more than live here.
2.3 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
The trip to work from Caro: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Caro workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,351 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.
Where the people who work in Caro live
Where Caro 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.
Jobs in Caro: what the 3,320 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Caro, 2011 → 2021: 3,973 → 3,320. 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 Caro’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Caro
About 27% 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 Caro, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,404 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). 19.1% of Caro households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Caro’s commuters take a bus or train.
Caro and other U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,700
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 120 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 125 | Ann Arbor Township MI | 4,506 | $165K | 7.2% | 0.5% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,834 | Dos Palos CA | 5,697 | $42K | 17.6% | 9.4% | 20% | D− |
| 3,835 | Linton IN | 5,245 | $45K | 17.3% | 13.3% | 22% | D− |
| 3,836 | Caro MI | 4,258 | $42K | 28.7% | 9.1% | 21% | D− |
| 3,837 | Hamilton TX | 3,016 | $44K | 15.5% | 10.4% | 38% | D− |
| 3,838 | Keyser WV | 4,777 | $47K | 31.8% | 12.9% | 11% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,962 | 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 Caro, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
11% of Caro works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Almer Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Caro workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caro | – | D− | A | 19 min | $41,595 |
| Almer Township | 6% | C− | C | 26 min | $62,188 |
| Indianfields Township | 5% | D | C− | 29 min | $57,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Caro’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 Caro: questions
What is the median household income in Caro?
$41,595 (±$5,320) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Caro?
28.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Caro?
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 Caro work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Almer Township (6%, 4 mi), Indianfields Township (5%, 3 mi), Elkland Township (3%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Caro walkable?
Caro is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Caro without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Caro, from the people who make the trip.
More of Caro
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.