12 Mile road-Kalamazoo River Bridge · Photo: kennethaw88 · CC BY 4.0Unemployment in Emmett Township (2.5%) is lower than in 77% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 19 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. For jobs and income Emmett Township is better than 68% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (C−). About one in ten work in Emmett Township; the top destination outside it is Battle Creek (32%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Emmett Township in brief
Emmett Township trades workers with the towns around it
Emmett Township has about as many jobs (4,894) as working residents (4,870), but they are mostly different people: 4,371 residents leave for work each day while 4,395 people come in. Only 10% of the jobs in Emmett Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Emmett Township and Battle Creek trade workers both ways
Battle Creek is the top workplace for Emmett Township residents (32%) and also where the most people who work in Emmett Township come from (20% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Commutes from Emmett Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Emmett Township
Unemployment holds Emmett Township’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (10.0%, U.S. 12.5%). 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 three years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Emmett Township could be anywhere from B− to A−.
A workday in Emmett Township: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 4,371 residents head out to work, 499 work right here, and 4,395 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 (1.00 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.
Commuting out of Emmett Township: the destinations
Where Emmett Township clocks in
32% of workers
4% 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.
Emmett Township’s commute takes about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Emmett Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,518 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.
Inside Emmett Township’s 4,894 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Emmett Township, 2011 → 2021: 4,614 → 4,894. 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 Emmett Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Near or far: the trip to work from Emmett Township
About 18% 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.
In Emmett Township, most people drive to work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,900 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). 3.5% of Emmett Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Emmett Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Emmett Township is 1,168th of 2,695 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000 on jobs and income
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,166 | Whitehall PA | 14,521 | $89K | 6.7% | 6.3% | 7% | B+ |
| 1,167 | Granbury TX | 13,263 | $74K | 6.9% | 2.7% | 21% | B+ |
| 1,168 | Emmett Township MI | 11,712 | $79K | 10.0% | 2.5% | 10% | B+ |
| 1,169 | Bridgeton MO | 11,277 | $72K | 11.5% | 3.2% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,170 | Brooklyn OH | 11,072 | $69K | 9.1% | 3.6% | 6% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 19% | 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 Emmett Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
33% of Emmett Township works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Emmett Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmett Township | – | B+ | C− | 19 min | $79,207 |
| Battle Creek | 32% | C− | B+ | 19 min | $55,693 |
| Newton Township | under 2% | B | D− | 21 min | $74,453 |
| Pennfield Township | under 2% | B− | C− | 22 min | $66,119 |
| Marshall Township | 1% | B+ | C+ | 21 min | $106,944 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Battle Creek. Darker towns draw more of Emmett 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 Emmett Township: questions
What is the median household income in Emmett Township?
$79,207 (±$7,718) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Emmett Township?
10.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Emmett Township?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Emmett Township work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Battle Creek (32%, 6 mi), Marshall (5%, 7 mi), Kalamazoo (4%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Emmett Township walkable?
Emmett Township is more walkable than 23% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.4 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Emmett Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Emmett Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Emmett 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.