Harris Township’s household incomes are lower than in 81% of U.S. towns
About one in four work in Harris Township itself; outside it, Spalding Township draws the most (9%, 8 miles). The poverty rate is 15.4%, where Michigan as a whole has 13.2%. Jobs and income earn Harris Township D; getting around on foot earns it C.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Harris Township, in brief
Harris Township is where the jobs are
Harris Township has 1,054 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
The biggest group of Harris Township’s workers comes from Escanaba
160 of the people who work in Harris Township live in Escanaba, 15 miles away, more than from any other town. The commute map ↓
Nearly all the work in Harris Township is services
86% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 9% are in factories, building or farms. 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 667 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Income, poverty and work: Harris Township’s grade explained
On income, poverty and job access, Harris Township is better than 8% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Harris Township’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 6% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (5.2%) is left out: Harris 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, Harris Township could be anywhere from D− to C−.
A workday in Harris Township: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 513 residents head out to work, 154 work right here, and 900 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Harris Township on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
1.6 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 Harris Township live
Where Harris Township clocks in
7% 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 Harris Township, services account for most jobs
1,054 jobs are based in Harris Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Harris Township, 2011 → 2021: 266 → 1,054. 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 Harris Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 26 minutes to work from Harris Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Harris Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 694 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Harris Township
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.
In Harris Township, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Harris Township is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 4.3.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 738 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). 2.9% of Harris Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Harris Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Harris Township is 4,554th of 5,148 U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,800 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 124 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 201 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,552 | Dunkirk IN | 2,097 | $46K | 22.6% | 4.9% | 7% | D |
| 4,553 | Baldwin LA | 1,676 | $32K | 26.9% | 1.2% | 2% | D |
| 4,554 | Harris Township MI | 2,088 | $55K | 15.4% | 5.2% | 23% | D |
| 4,555 | Buckskin Township OH | 2,046 | $47K | 16.7% | 7.3% | 1% | D |
| 4,556 | Sylva NC | 2,691 | $44K | 19.4% | 7.3% | 18% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,148 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Harris Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Work in the towns next to Harris Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Harris Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris Township | – | D | C | 26 min | $55,104 |
| Spalding Township | 9% | C− | C | 36 min | $63,333 |
| Gourley Township | under 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Bark River Township | under 3% | C | C− | 22 min | $69,375 |
| Cornell Township | under 3% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Escanaba Township | under 3% | B | C+ | 25 min | $81,250 |
| Wells Township | under 3% | — | — | 34 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Gourley Township, Cornell Township and Wells Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Spalding Township. Darker towns draw more of Harris 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 Harris Township: questions
What is the median household income in Harris Township?
$55,104 (±$11,587) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Harris Township?
15.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Harris Township?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Harris Township work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Spalding Township (9%, 8 mi), Escanaba (7%, 15 mi), Iron Mountain (6%, 32 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Harris Township walkable?
Harris Township is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Harris Township without a car?
1% 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 Harris Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Harris 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.