Photo: Phillip L. Hofmeister · CC BY 3.0Households in Jackson earn less than those in 93% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Jackson is better than 15% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (A−). The poverty rate is 24.6%, where Michigan as a whole has 13.2%. About one in four work in Jackson itself; outside it, Blackman Township draws the most (12%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Jackson apart
Jackson is where the jobs are
Jackson has 24,926 jobs, 2.3 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 45,000 people are in town, 45% more than the 31,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Jackson are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
Jackson draws workers from far and wide
The 24,926 jobs in Jackson are filled from a wide area. Jackson’s own residents hold 13% and the ten next-biggest home towns 32%; the other 55% come from many towns beyond those. 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.
Jobs & income in Jackson: the grade in detail
Job access by car holds Jackson’s grade up (ahead of 74% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($44,558, 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 two years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Jackson could be anywhere from D to C−.
The daily commute in and out of Jackson
On a workday 7,720 residents head out to work, 3,246 work right here, and 21,680 people come in from elsewhere.
About 45,000 people are in Jackson on a workday afternoon, 45% more than live here.
2.3 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.
How long Jackson spends getting to work: about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Jackson workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,122 commuters (the 9% 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.
Commuting in to Jackson: where workers come from
Where Jackson 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.
Jobs in Jackson: what the 24,926 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Jackson, 2011 → 2021: 29,151 → 24,926. 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 Jackson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Jackson
About 19% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Jackson
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 13,317 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). 13.5% of Jackson households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Jackson’s commuters take a bus or train.
Jackson and other U.S. towns of 22,000 to 42,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Northville Township MI | 31,399 | $151K | 3.1% | 2.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 124 | Lyon Township MI | 26,867 | $146K | 4.8% | 3.1% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 140 | Independence Township MI | 37,725 | $115K | 4.3% | 2.9% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,284 | Phenix City AL | 38,344 | $50K | 24.5% | 5.4% | 17% | D |
| 1,285 | Inkster MI | 24,959 | $39K | 35.2% | 14.4% | 2% | D |
| 1,286 | Jackson MI | 31,022 | $45K | 24.6% | 9.1% | 30% | D |
| 1,287 | West Memphis AR | 23,336 | $43K | 29.1% | 14.5% | 30% | D |
| 1,288 | Immokalee FL | 26,361 | $48K | 28.3% | 4.3% | 18% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,334 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Jackson, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Bordering towns draw 22% of Jackson’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Jackson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson | – | D | A− | 17 min | $44,558 |
| Summit Township | 5% | C+ | C | 19 min | $65,987 |
| Leoni Township | 5% | B | C | 23 min | $76,605 |
| Blackman Township | 12% | B− | C | 18 min | $60,810 |
| Vandercook Lake | under 1% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Vandercook Lake: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Blackman Township. Darker towns draw more of Jackson’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 Jackson: questions
What is the median household income in Jackson?
$44,558 (±$2,084) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Jackson?
24.6%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Jackson?
17 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Jackson work?
30% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Blackman Township (12%, 4 mi), Summit Township (5%, 3 mi), Leoni Township (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Jackson walkable?
Jackson is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Jackson without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Jackson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Jackson
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.