With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Fair Plain works elsewhere
Only 5% stay in Fair Plain for work; outside it, Benton Township is the main destination (20%, 4 miles). Fair Plain has 1,584 jobs; 2,896 of its residents have a job. 6% 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
Jobs and commuting in Fair Plain: the gist
The kinds of work in Fair Plain
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fair Plain, 2011 → 2021: 1,305 → 1,584. 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 Fair Plain’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Fair Plain by day
On a workday 2,752 residents head out to work, 144 work right here, and 1,440 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,000 people are in Fair Plain on a workday afternoon, 18% 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 places Fair Plain commutes to
Where Fair Plain clocks in
11% 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.
Commuting from Fair Plain: about 20 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fair Plain workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,009 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.
Half of Fair Plain commutes less than 8 miles
About 25% 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 towns next door employ 23% of Fair Plain
The biggest share goes to St. Joseph (11%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fair Plain workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair Plain | – | — | — | 20 min | $52,817 |
| Benton Harbor | 5% | D | A− | 18 min | $31,117 |
| St. Joseph Township | 5% | B− | B | 19 min | $94,926 |
| Royalton Township | 2% | A | C− | 17 min | $128,750 |
| St. Joseph | 11% | A− | A | 20 min | $84,057 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fair Plain’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 Fair Plain: questions
What is the median household income in Fair Plain?
$52,817 (±$8,548) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fair Plain?
26.6%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fair Plain?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fair Plain work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Benton Township (20%, 4 mi), St. Joseph (11%, 2 mi), Lincoln Township (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Fair Plain without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fair Plain, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fair Plain
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.