William S. Delano House · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0Cooper Township has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Only 3% work in Cooper Township; the top destination outside it is Kalamazoo (22%, 8 miles). Employers in Cooper Township report 1,088 jobs, and 4,535 of its residents work somewhere. Cooper Township grades B+ for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Cooper Township apart
Cooper Township makes and builds things
57% of the jobs based in Cooper Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Cooper Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 28%. The jobs ↓
Cooper Township and Kalamazoo trade workers both ways
Kalamazoo is the top workplace for Cooper Township residents (22%) and also where the most people who work in Cooper Township come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Cooper Township is a place people come home to
There are 1,088 jobs based in Cooper Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Cooper Township has about 7,000 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Cooper Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Cooper Township fell from 1,503 in 2011 to 1,088 in 2021, −28%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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.
Cooper Township’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Cooper Township is better than 66% of U.S. towns, #265 of 701 in Michigan. The poverty rate holds Cooper Township’s grade up (2.7%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down (6.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
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, Cooper Township could be anywhere from B− to A.
57% of the jobs in Cooper Township make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cooper Township, 2011 → 2021: 1,503 → 1,088. 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 Cooper Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Out of Cooper Township to work: where people go
Where Cooper Township clocks in
22% of workers
7% 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.
Who leaves Cooper Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 4,409 residents head out to work, 126 work right here, and 962 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,000 people are in Cooper Township on a workday afternoon, 33% 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.
The daily trip from Cooper Township: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cooper Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,230 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.
Cooper Township’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Driving is how Cooper Township gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cooper Township is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns, #594 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Cooper 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 5,655 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). 1.8% of Cooper Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Cooper Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Cooper Township is 1,267th of 2,878 U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Jamestown Township MI | 10,702 | $120K | 2.8% | 1.1% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,265 | Hubbard OH | 7,528 | $63K | 6.1% | 3.2% | 10% | B+ |
| 1,266 | Jefferson WI | 7,814 | $79K | 11.2% | 2.7% | 16% | B+ |
| 1,267 | Cooper Township MI | 10,446 | $83K | 2.7% | 6.2% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,268 | Medulla FL | 10,985 | $71K | 8.7% | 2.9% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,269 | Mound MN | 9,064 | $87K | 8.8% | 5.2% | 6% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Cooper Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Work in the towns next to Cooper Township
The biggest share goes to Kalamazoo Township (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cooper Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooper Township | – | B+ | D | 22 min | $82,864 |
| Richland Township | under 3% | A | C | 26 min | $106,470 |
| Gun Plain Township | 2% | B | C | 28 min | $89,346 |
| Alamo Township | under 3% | A | D | 22 min | $87,113 |
| Kalamazoo Township | 7% | C+ | C+ | 21 min | $58,349 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cooper 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 Cooper Township: questions
What is the median household income in Cooper Township?
$82,864 (±$12,840) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cooper Township?
2.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cooper Township?
22 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cooper Township work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kalamazoo (22%, 8 mi), Portage (9%, 13 mi), Kalamazoo Township (7%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Cooper Township walkable?
Cooper Township is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.9 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cooper Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Cooper Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cooper 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.