Photo: Chris857 · CC BY-SA 4.0Family incomes in Hancock top those of 73% of U.S. towns
About one in four stay in Hancock for work; outside it, Houghton is the main destination (30%, 2 miles). Without college students, the poverty rate is 13.6%; Michigan has 12.5%. Jobs and income earn Hancock C+; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Hancock apart
Commutes from Hancock are quick
The average trip to work takes 11 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 100 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Hancock residents work close to home
71% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Hancock is where the jobs are
Hancock has 2,469 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
30% of Hancock works in Houghton
475 working residents, 30%, have their main job in Houghton, 2.2 miles away. That’s more than work in Hancock itself. The commute map ↓
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.
What’s behind Hancock’s Jobs & income grade
On family income, poverty and job access, Hancock is better than 37% of U.S. towns, #505 of 701 in Michigan. Family income holds Hancock’s grade up ($113,603, U.S. $99,999); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 17% of U.S. towns).
19% of Hancock’s residents are college students, and off-campus students count in the Census poverty figures. Where students are 15% or more of the people the Census checks for poverty (18% here), the grade uses the rate without them: 13.6%, against 19.1% for all residents. Unemployment (1.8%) is left out here: students looking for part-time work count as unemployed. Income is ranked as median family income ($113,603), since student households pull the household median down ($59,519).
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 family income and poverty, Hancock could be anywhere from C− to B.
About 11 minutes to work from Hancock
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hancock workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,852 commuters (the 20% 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.
Where in the region Hancock works
About 21% 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.
Who works in Hancock, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,172 residents head out to work, 424 work right here, and 2,045 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,500 people are in Hancock on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
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 the people who work in Hancock live
Where Hancock clocks in
30% of workers
6% 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.
In Hancock, services account for most jobs
2,469 jobs are based in Hancock.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hancock, 2011 → 2021: 2,223 → 2,469. 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 Hancock’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Hancock is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hancock is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #16 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Hancock 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 2,302 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). 5.8% of Hancock households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Hancock’s commuters take a bus or train.
Hancock next to U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,200: 2,581st of 3,938 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 52 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 119 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 123 | Ann Arbor Township MI | 4,506 | $165K | 7.2% | 0.5% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,579 | Stockholm NY | 3,857 | $77K | 12.8% | 3.0% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,580 | Greenfield CA | 3,939 | $74K | 12.1% | 12.2% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,581 | Hancock MI | 4,596 | $60K | 19.1% | 1.8% | 27% | C+ |
| 2,582 | Wharton Township PA | 3,309 | $72K | 28.7% | 1.7% | 26% | C+ |
| 2,583 | Gaylord MI | 4,444 | $45K | 8.0% | 3.1% | 34% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,938 | 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 Hancock, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
How Hancock compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Portage Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hancock workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hancock | – | C+ | A | 11 min | $59,519 |
| Hancock Township | under 2% | — | — | 13 min | — |
| Quincy Township | under 2% | — | — | 10 min | — |
| Franklin Township | 3% | C | C | 16 min | $78,155 |
| Portage Township | 5% | C+ | B+ | 15 min | $66,652 |
Same-state neighbors only. Hancock Township and Quincy Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hancock’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.
- Students. 19% of residents are college students; the poverty input leaves off-campus students out (above).
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Hancock: questions
What is the median household income in Hancock?
$59,519 (±$15,467) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hancock?
19.1% of residents live below the poverty line; leaving out college students, 13.6%. Michigan: 13.2%.
How long is the commute from Hancock?
11 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hancock work?
27% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houghton (30%, 2 mi), Calumet Township (6%, 11 mi), Portage Township (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Hancock walkable?
Hancock is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hancock without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hancock, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hancock
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.