Photo: Sea_Bass (Uploads) · Public domainChester Township has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.3 for each
The two grades for Chester Township are B+ for jobs and income and C− for walkability. 305 jobs are based in Chester Township; 946 of its residents have a job. Only 1% stay in Chester Township for work; outside it, Grand Rapids is the main destination (16%, 17 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Chester Township, in a few figures
Chester Township makes and builds things
67% of the jobs based in Chester Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Chester Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 35%. The jobs ↓
Chester Township empties out on a workday
About 1,500 people are in Chester Township on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than the 2,100 who live here: 930 head out to work and 290 come in. Day and night ↓
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 946 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Chester Township’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Chester Township is better than 67% of U.S. towns. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Chester Township’s grade. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is three years behind.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Chester Township could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Chester Township makes things: 67% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Chester Township, 2011 → 2021: 113 → 305. 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 Chester Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Chester Township by day and by night
On a workday 932 residents head out to work, 14 work right here, and 291 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Chester Township on a workday afternoon, 30% 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.
Where Chester Township goes to work
Where Chester 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.
How long Chester Township spends getting to work: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Chester Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,017 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Chester Township
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 Chester Township is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Chester Township is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 2.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,101 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.3% of Chester Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Chester Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Chester Township is 1,347th among 5,404 U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900
| # | 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% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 94 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 132 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 213 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,345 | Washington Township OH | 1,777 | $85K | 7.2% | 2.5% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,346 | Las Campanas NM | 2,119 | $205K | 8.9% | 2.1% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,347 | Chester Township MI | 2,117 | $80K | 8.0% | 3.5% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,348 | Cook Township PA | 1,836 | $71K | 5.9% | 2.2% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,349 | Port Washington WI | 1,601 | $83K | 10.6% | 2.0% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Chester Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Bordering towns draw 10% of Chester Township’s workers
The biggest share goes to Wright Township (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Chester Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chester Township | – | B+ | C− | 28 min | $79,875 |
| Wright Township | 7% | B | C− | 22 min | $87,344 |
| Casnovia Township | under 3% | B− | C− | 27 min | $83,333 |
| Ravenna Township | under 3% | B+ | C− | 27 min | $75,625 |
| Sparta Township | 3% | C+ | B− | 23 min | $76,346 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Chester 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 Chester Township: questions
What is the median household income in Chester Township?
$79,875 (±$10,118) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Chester Township?
8.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Chester Township?
28 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Chester Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (16%, 17 mi), Walker (8%, 12 mi), Wright Township (7%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Chester Township walkable?
Chester Township is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 2.9 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Chester Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Chester Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Chester 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.