Household incomes in Hartford are lower than in 95% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Hartford D; getting around on foot earns it B. The poverty rate is 16.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan. 0% of workers have no commute at all, against 14% across Michigan.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Hartford at work: what stands out
Fewer jobs are based in Hartford than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Hartford fell from 748 in 2011 to 419 in 2021, −44%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Fewer than half of Hartford workers earn over $40,000 a year
41% of Hartford’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 19% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Few Hartford workers work from home
Only 1% of workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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; with 817 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Hartford
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hartford is better than 13% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Hartford’s grade up (ahead of 50% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($42,171, U.S. $80,734).
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, Hartford could be anywhere from D to C+.
The kinds of work in Hartford
419 jobs are based in Hartford.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hartford, 2011 → 2021: 748 → 419. 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 Hartford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Hartford, about 22 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hartford workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 930 commuters (the 1% 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.
In and out of Hartford on a workday
On a workday 742 residents head out to work, 75 work right here, and 344 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Hartford on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.51 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
8% of working residents work in Benton Township
Where Hartford clocks in
5% 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.
Half of Hartford commutes less than 16 miles
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 Hartford, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hartford is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Hartford 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 935 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). 12.5% of Hartford households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Hartford’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Hartford is 4,369th of 5,207 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,300
| # | 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% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 138 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,367 | Ossun LA | 2,271 | $41K | 24.6% | 9.6% | 1% | D |
| 4,368 | Havana FL | 1,759 | $61K | 22.0% | 3.7% | 5% | D |
| 4,369 | Hartford MI | 2,448 | $42K | 16.3% | 8.3% | 9% | D |
| 4,370 | Bangor MI | 1,965 | $50K | 19.9% | 7.6% | 10% | D |
| 4,371 | Ortonville MN | 1,967 | $56K | 12.1% | 2.1% | 45% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,207 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Hartford, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
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 Hartford: questions
What is the median household income in Hartford?
$42,171 (±$9,615) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hartford?
16.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hartford?
22 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hartford work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Benton Township (8%, 13 mi), Lawrence Township (5%, 6 mi), Watervliet Township (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Hartford walkable?
Hartford is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hartford without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hartford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hartford
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.