Photo: AaronJoePick · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of Golden Township works elsewhere
For jobs and income Golden Township is better than 34% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (C+). 245 jobs are based in Golden Township for 593 working residents. About one in ten work in Golden Township; the top destination outside it is Hart (13%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Golden Township: the figures worth knowing
A big share show a job far from home
37% 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 ↓
Fewer than half of Golden Township workers earn over $40,000 a year
43% of Golden Township’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 18% 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; with 593 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Golden Township’s grade
The poverty rate holds Golden Township’s grade up (6.8%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 11% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (12.8%) is left out: Golden 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, Golden Township could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Half of Golden Township commutes less than 30 miles
About 37% 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 kinds of work in Golden Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Golden Township, 2011 → 2021: 165 → 245. 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 Golden Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Golden Township on a workday
On a workday 530 residents head out to work, 63 work right here, and 182 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Golden Township on a workday afternoon, 20% 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.
Commuting out of Golden Township: the destinations
Where Golden Township clocks in
Lines 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.
How long Golden Township spends getting to work: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Golden Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 626 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.
Few in Golden Township walk, bike or ride to work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 6.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 678 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). 3.7% of Golden Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Golden Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Golden Township places 3,125th of 5,760 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 206 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 249 | Sylvan Lake MI | 1,685 | $106K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,123 | Glenwood City WI | 1,254 | $73K | 12.2% | 4.8% | 5% | C |
| 3,124 | Butler Township MI | 1,415 | $71K | 9.1% | 3.6% | 1% | C |
| 3,125 | Golden Township MI | 1,704 | $67K | 6.8% | 12.8% | 11% | C |
| 3,126 | Chester Township OH | 2,062 | $60K | 8.8% | 0.0% | 3% | C |
| 3,127 | Dublin Township OH | 2,056 | $65K | 8.9% | 2.0% | 10% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,760 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 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 Golden Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
The towns next door employ 12% of Golden Township
The biggest share goes to Hart Township (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Golden Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Township | – | C | C+ | 26 min | $67,426 |
| Hart Township | 9% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Benona Township | under 2% | C+ | C− | 28 min | $77,632 |
| Pentwater Township | under 2% | B− | A− | 19 min | $87,708 |
| Shelby Township | 3% | C− | C | 17 min | $67,736 |
Same-state neighbors only. Hart Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Golden 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 Golden Township: questions
What is the median household income in Golden Township?
$67,426 (±$9,057) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Golden Township?
6.8%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Golden Township?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Golden Township work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hart (13%, 4 mi), Hart Township (9%, 6 mi), Grand Rapids (6%, 64 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Golden Township walkable?
Golden Township is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Golden Township without a car?
0% 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 Golden Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Golden 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.