Carson City has lower household incomes than 93% of U.S. towns
3% of workers have no commute at all, next to 14% for Michigan as a whole. 15.7% of residents are in poverty (Michigan 13.2%). The two grades for Carson City are D for jobs and income and B for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Carson City, in brief
Carson City is where the jobs are
Carson City has 657 jobs, 2.3 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Carson City has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Carson City went from 396 in 2011 to 657 in 2021, +66%. The jobs ↓
Few Carson City workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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 292 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Carson City gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty and job access, Carson City is better than 6% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Carson City’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($44,375, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (5.0%) is left out: Carson City’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 fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Carson City could be anywhere from D− to C−.
In and out of Carson City on a workday
On a workday 278 residents head out to work, 14 work right here, and 643 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Carson City on a workday afternoon, 32% 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.
In Carson City, services account for most jobs
657 jobs are based in Carson City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Carson City, 2011 → 2021: 396 → 657. 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 Carson City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 23 minutes each way, about the MI average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Carson City workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 480 commuters (the 3% 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.
Who travels to work in Carson City, and from where
Where Carson City clocks in
8% of workers
4% 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.
Miles to work from Carson City
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.
Most of Carson City commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Carson City is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 6.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 493 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). 11.0% of Carson City households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Carson City’s commuters take a bus or train.
3,301st of 3,771: where Carson City ranks among U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 95 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 225 | Petersburg MI | 1,152 | $83K | 1.8% | 1.7% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 275 | Freedom Township MI | 1,298 | $113K | 6.7% | 2.5% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,299 | Central City IL | 1,067 | $45K | 29.1% | 7.2% | 2% | D |
| 3,300 | Caldwell KS | 1,000 | $44K | 12.8% | 8.8% | 15% | D |
| 3,301 | Carson City MI | 1,137 | $44K | 15.7% | 5.0% | 5% | D |
| 3,302 | Belle MO | 1,379 | $55K | 21.8% | 4.4% | 8% | D |
| 3,303 | Altamont TN | 1,203 | $41K | 15.9% | 13.0% | 14% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Carson City, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
How Carson City compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Carson City workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carson City | – | D | B | 23 min | $44,375 |
| Bloomer Township | 3% | B− | C | 24 min | $86,313 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Bloomer Township. Darker towns draw more of Carson City’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 Carson City: questions
What is the median household income in Carson City?
$44,375 (±$15,135) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Carson City?
15.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Carson City?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Carson City work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Greenville (8%, 21 mi), Ionia (5%, 18 mi), Lansing (4%, 35 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Carson City walkable?
Carson City is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Carson City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Carson City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Carson City
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.