Photo: Michael Tomko · CC BY-SA 3.0At 8.9%, unemployment in Dowagiac is higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Dowagiac are D for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Measured by household income, Dowagiac is behind 90% of U.S. towns. 3% of workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Dowagiac and work: the main findings
Dowagiac trades workers with the towns around it
Dowagiac has about as many jobs (1,924) as working residents (2,144), but they are mostly different people: 1,874 residents leave for work each day while 1,654 people come in. Only 14% of the jobs in Dowagiac are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
No single place dominates Dowagiac’s commute
The biggest draw, LaGrange Township, gets only 7% of working residents, and 55% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Dowagiac residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Few Dowagiac 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 ↓
Fewer than half of Dowagiac workers earn over $40,000 a year
43% of Dowagiac’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 20% 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Dowagiac
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Dowagiac is better than 10% of U.S. towns, #670 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Dowagiac’s grade up (ahead of 48% of U.S. towns); unemployment 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, Dowagiac could be anywhere from D to C.
How many people are in Dowagiac by day
On a workday 1,874 residents head out to work, 270 work right here, and 1,654 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.90 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
7% of working residents work in LaGrange Township
Where Dowagiac clocks in
5% 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 daily trip from Dowagiac: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dowagiac workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,459 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.
The 1,924 jobs based in Dowagiac
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dowagiac, 2011 → 2021: 2,257 → 1,924. 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 Dowagiac’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Dowagiac
About 22% 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.
Dowagiac is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Dowagiac is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns, #79 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Dowagiac 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 2,544 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). 8.5% of Dowagiac households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Dowagiac’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Dowagiac compares with U.S. towns of 4,000 to 7,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 116 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,204 | Gridley CA | 7,258 | $58K | 17.9% | 11.5% | 17% | D |
| 3,205 | Waynesboro GA | 5,511 | $42K | 26.0% | 6.1% | 28% | D |
| 3,206 | Dowagiac MI | 5,725 | $48K | 21.4% | 8.9% | 13% | D |
| 3,207 | New Lexington OH | 4,465 | $44K | 27.4% | 5.4% | 21% | D |
| 3,208 | Kingsland TX | 7,330 | $57K | 16.3% | 6.4% | 12% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,476 | 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 Dowagiac, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Dowagiac and its neighbors: 13% work next door
The biggest share goes to LaGrange Township (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dowagiac workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dowagiac | – | D | A− | 23 min | $48,166 |
| Pokagon Township | 2% | B− | B− | 23 min | $72,022 |
| LaGrange Township | 7% | C | B+ | 23 min | $58,786 |
| Silver Creek Township | under 3% | B | C | 21 min | $80,894 |
| Wayne Township | 4% | D | C | 25 min | $61,210 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Dowagiac’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 Dowagiac: questions
What is the median household income in Dowagiac?
$48,166 (±$7,421) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dowagiac?
21.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dowagiac?
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 Dowagiac work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are LaGrange Township (7%, 5 mi), Elkhart (5%, 22 mi), Wayne Township (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Dowagiac walkable?
Dowagiac is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Dowagiac without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dowagiac, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dowagiac
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.