James Township has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.2 for each
At home: 5% of workers have no commute at all (Michigan 14%). 124 jobs are based in James Township for 754 working residents. James Township grades B− for jobs and income and D for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
James Township at work: what stands out
A lot of James Township works one town over
40% of working residents work in a town that borders James Township: Saginaw (18%), Saginaw Township (17%) and Thomas Township (5%). Next door ↓
James Township is a place people come home to
There are 124 jobs based in James Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday James Township has about 1,100 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of James Township’s working residents have a job less than 9 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 28 minutes, longer than the Michigan average of 24. 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 754 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in James Township
On income, poverty and job access, James Township is better than 48% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds James Township’s grade up (ahead of 61% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($70,000, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (4.3%) is left out: James 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, James Township could be anywhere from C to B.
Who commutes out of James Township, and who commutes in
On a workday 733 residents head out to work, 21 work right here, and 103 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in James Township on a workday afternoon, 36% 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.
James Township’s commute takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of James Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 719 commuters (the 5% 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.
18% of working residents work in Saginaw
Where James Township clocks in
18% of workers
17% of workers
8% 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.
Goods jobs make up 34% of work in James Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in James Township, 2011 → 2021: 100 → 124. 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 James Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
James Township’s commute, mile by mile
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.
In James Township, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, James Township is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place James Township 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 757 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). 4.6% of James Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of James Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 6,085 U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,400, James Township comes 2,458th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 104 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 218 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 263 | Sylvan Lake MI | 1,685 | $106K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,456 | Parks AZ | 1,706 | $78K | 5.5% | 1.0% | 3% | B− |
| 2,457 | Sutton NE | 1,466 | $81K | 5.8% | 1.3% | 23% | B− |
| 2,458 | James Township MI | 1,746 | $70K | 11.4% | 4.3% | 3% | B− |
| 2,459 | New Haven Township MI | 1,211 | $68K | 6.0% | 2.3% | <1% | B− |
| 2,460 | Boronda CA | 1,351 | $63K | 10.9% | 0.7% | 1% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 6,085 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 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 James Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
40% of James Township works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Saginaw (18%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | James Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Township | – | B− | D | 28 min | $70,000 |
| Spaulding Township | under 2% | C+ | C+ | 22 min | $61,518 |
| Saginaw | 18% | D | B+ | 19 min | $38,579 |
| Saginaw Township | 17% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Swan Creek Township | under 2% | B− | C | 30 min | $72,895 |
| Thomas Township | 5% | C+ | C+ | 23 min | $79,710 |
| Shields | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Saginaw Township: not graded. Shields: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of James 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 James Township: questions
What is the median household income in James Township?
$70,000 (±$8,789) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in James Township?
11.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from James Township?
28 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in James Township work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Saginaw (18%, 6 mi), Saginaw Township (17%, 6 mi), Midland (8%, 20 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is James Township walkable?
James Township is more walkable than 6% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.8 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around James Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from James Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of James 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.