Most of Highland Township commutes out: there are 0.2 jobs for every working resident
Highland Township has 81 jobs, and 403 of its residents work somewhere. For jobs and income Highland Township is better than 22% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns (C). 3% of workers work from home (Michigan 14%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Highland Township: the gist
Highland Township is a place people come home to
There are 81 jobs based in Highland Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Highland Township has about 870 people in it, 27% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% 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 ↓
Few Highland Township workers work from home
Only 3% 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 403 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Highland Township
Household income holds Highland Township’s grade up ($77,174, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 8% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (2.4%) is left out: Highland 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, Highland Township could be anywhere from D to C+.
In and out of Highland Township on a workday
On a workday 394 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 72 people come in from elsewhere.
About 870 people are in Highland Township on a workday afternoon, 27% 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 commute from Highland Township, by distance
About 31% 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 trip to work from Highland Township: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Highland Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 616 commuters (the 3% 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.
15% of working residents work in Cadillac
Where Highland 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.
Goods jobs make up 49% of work in Highland Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Highland Township, 2011 → 2021: 45 → 81. 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 Highland Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting around Highland Township: mostly by car
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 3.1.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 638 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). 9.5% of Highland Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Highland Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Highland Township is 2,867th of 4,312 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 110 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 271 | Petersburg MI | 1,152 | $83K | 1.8% | 1.7% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 319 | Milan Township MI | 1,540 | $96K | 6.0% | 4.1% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,865 | Shell Lake WI | 1,414 | $58K | 8.9% | 0.5% | 14% | C− |
| 2,866 | Rudyard Township MI | 1,290 | $64K | 9.2% | 2.7% | 5% | C− |
| 2,867 | Highland Township MI | 1,190 | $77K | 14.7% | 2.4% | 2% | C− |
| 2,868 | Andes NY | 1,099 | $75K | 12.0% | 9.4% | 7% | C− |
| 2,869 | Angelica NY | 1,277 | $60K | 8.8% | 3.3% | 4% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,312 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 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 Highland Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
10% of Highland Township works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Highland Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Township | – | C− | C | 23 min | $77,174 |
| Hartwick Township | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Sherman Township | under 2% | D | C− | 24 min | $58,571 |
| Marion Township | 10% | D− | D | 30 min | $43,547 |
| Richland Township | under 2% | B− | C+ | 18 min | $88,295 |
Same-state neighbors only. Hartwick Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Marion Township. Darker towns draw more of Highland 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 Highland Township: questions
What is the median household income in Highland Township?
$77,174 (±$11,456) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Highland Township?
14.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Highland Township?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Highland Township work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cadillac (15%, 12 mi), Evart (10%, 16 mi), Marion Township (10%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Highland Township walkable?
Highland Township is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 3.1 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Highland Township without a car?
<1% 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 Highland Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Highland 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.