With 0.0 jobs for every working resident, most of Elk Township works elsewhere
Household incomes here are lower than in 79% of U.S. towns. Employers in Elk Township report 12 jobs, and 279 of its residents work somewhere. Elk Township grades D 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
Work in Elk Township, in a few figures
Elk Township is a place people come home to
There are 12 jobs based in Elk Township, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Elk Township has about 760 people in it, 26% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
41% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Elk Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 54 more than the state’s typical worker. 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 279 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Elk Township’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty and job access, Elk Township is better than 14% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Elk Township’s grade up (9.9%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (near the bottom of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (4.6%) is left out: Elk Township’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, Elk Township could be anywhere from D to C.
Who leaves Elk Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 275 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 8 people come in from elsewhere.
About 760 people are in Elk Township on a workday afternoon, 26% 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 in the region Elk Township works
About 41% 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.
Time on the road from Elk Township: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elk Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 256 commuters (the 16% 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.
6% of working residents work in Norman Township
Where Elk Township 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.
75% of the jobs in Elk Township make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elk Township, 2011 → 2021: 53 → 12. 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 Elk Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most of Elk Township commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elk Township is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 0.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 2.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 303 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). 2.6% of Elk Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Elk Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Elk Township is 2,360th of 3,133 U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 172 | Petersburg MI | 1,152 | $83K | 1.8% | 1.7% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 216 | Freedom Township MI | 1,298 | $113K | 6.7% | 2.5% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,358 | Peabody Township KS | 1,090 | $55K | 14.6% | 3.8% | 7% | D |
| 2,359 | Greenbush Township MI | 1,317 | $63K | 12.1% | 4.2% | 3% | D |
| 2,360 | Elk Township MI | 1,025 | $56K | 9.9% | 4.6% | 1% | D |
| 2,361 | Toppers OK | 1,029 | $52K | 23.4% | 7.6% | 0% | D |
| 2,362 | Arapahoe WY | 1,240 | $70K | 18.1% | 12.3% | 17% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | 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 Elk Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
The towns around Elk Township
The biggest share goes to Norman Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elk Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elk Township | – | D | D | 31 min | $56,438 |
| Sauble Township | under 3% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Eden Township | under 3% | — | — | 37 min | — |
| Norman Township | 6% | C− | D | 25 min | $63,634 |
| Meade Township | under 3% | — | — | 36 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Sauble Township, Eden Township and Meade Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Elk 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 Elk Township: questions
What is the median household income in Elk Township?
$56,438 (±$5,957) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elk Township?
9.9%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elk Township?
31 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elk Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Norman Township (6%, 6 mi), Manistee Township (5%, 18 mi), Pleasant Plains Township (4%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Elk Township walkable?
Elk Township is more walkable than 7% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 2.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elk 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 Elk Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elk 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.