Clearwater Township has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Working from home is the commute for 6% of workers (Michigan 14%). Clearwater Township has 214 jobs; 941 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Clearwater Township are C+ for jobs and income and C− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Clearwater Township apart on work
Clearwater Township is a place people come home to
There are 214 jobs based in Clearwater Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Clearwater Township has about 1,900 people in it, 28% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Clearwater 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 (24 to 29 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Fewer than half of Clearwater Township workers earn over $40,000 a year
43% of Clearwater Township’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 17% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
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 941 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How Clearwater Township earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Clearwater Township is better than 42% of U.S. towns, #467 of 701 in Michigan. The poverty rate holds Clearwater Township’s grade up (8.4%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 13% of U.S. towns). It also does well on unemployment.
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, Clearwater Township could be anywhere from C− to B+.
Clearwater Township quiets down on a workday
On a workday 881 residents head out to work, 60 work right here, and 154 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in Clearwater Township on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
How long Clearwater Township spends getting to work: about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clearwater Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,016 commuters (the 6% 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.
Clearwater Township works in goods: 38% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clearwater Township, 2011 → 2021: 75 → 214. 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 Clearwater Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
16% of working residents work in Traverse City
Where Clearwater Township clocks in
16% of workers
8% 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 commute from Clearwater Township, by distance
About 20% 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 commute in Clearwater Township is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Clearwater Township is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns, #497 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Clearwater 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 1,079 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). 3.1% of Clearwater Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Clearwater Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Clearwater Township ranks: 2,741st of 5,083 U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,500
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 136 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 230 | Milton Township MI | 3,187 | $119K | 3.2% | 2.3% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,739 | Pine Mountain Lake CA | 2,498 | $79K | 5.6% | 10.2% | 8% | C+ |
| 2,740 | Blue Earth MN | 3,165 | $67K | 10.8% | 2.5% | 50% | C+ |
| 2,741 | Clearwater Township MI | 2,600 | $75K | 8.4% | 3.8% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,742 | Louisville NY | 2,974 | $91K | 10.1% | 4.0% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,743 | Washington WI | 1,990 | $62K | 5.6% | 3.5% | 1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,083 | 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 Clearwater Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Clearwater Township and its neighbors: 15% work next door
The biggest share goes to Kalkaska Township (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Clearwater Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearwater Township | – | C+ | C− | 32 min | $74,663 |
| Milton Township | under 2% | B− | C | 26 min | $88,971 |
| Helena Township | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Kalkaska Township | 12% | C+ | B | 24 min | $64,253 |
| Rapid River Township | under 2% | C+ | D | 29 min | $72,273 |
| Whitewater Township | 3% | B+ | D | 25 min | $93,958 |
Same-state neighbors only. Helena Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Clearwater 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 Clearwater Township: questions
What is the median household income in Clearwater Township?
$74,663 (±$9,911) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clearwater Township?
8.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clearwater Township?
32 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clearwater Township work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Traverse City (16%, 17 mi), Kalkaska Township (12%, 6 mi), Garfield Township (8%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Clearwater Township walkable?
Clearwater Township is more walkable than 20% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clearwater Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clearwater Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clearwater 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.