Unemployment in Lake Township (2.6%) is lower than in 76% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Lake Township is better than 63% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns (C). About one in ten stay in Lake Township for work; outside it, St. Joseph is the main destination (9%, 13 miles). Working residents average 27 minutes each way; Michigan averages 24, the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Lake Township stands out on work
Jobs in Lake Township have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Lake Township went from 588 in 2011 to 1,848 in 2021, +214%. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
55% of the jobs in Lake Township are in trade, transport and utilities, against 22% of the jobs its residents hold. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Lake Township
Unemployment holds Lake Township’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (10.4%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
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 rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lake Township could be anywhere from C to A.
65% of the jobs in Lake Township pay over $3,333 a month
1,848 jobs are based in Lake Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lake Township, 2011 → 2021: 588 → 1,848. 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 Lake Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Lake Township on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,272 residents head out to work, 125 work right here, and 1,723 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,800 people are in Lake Township on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.32 per resident).
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 towns that employ Lake Township’s residents
Where Lake Township clocks in
9% 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.
The trip to work from Lake Township: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lake Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,381 commuters (the 10% 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.
Where in the region Lake Township works
About 24% 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.
Driving is how Lake Township gets around
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.8% across Michigan.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,530 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 Lake Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Lake Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lake Township is 1,605th of 4,593 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,500 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 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 139 | Dexter MI | 4,461 | $107K | 0.8% | 2.1% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 148 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,603 | Gibsonburg OH | 2,462 | $75K | 10.6% | 2.3% | 9% | B |
| 1,604 | Clinton ME | 3,378 | $71K | 2.6% | 2.7% | 11% | B |
| 1,605 | Lake Township MI | 3,348 | $83K | 10.4% | 2.6% | 9% | B |
| 1,606 | Sevastopol WI | 2,835 | $89K | 8.1% | 1.4% | 11% | B |
| 1,607 | Beechwood MS | 4,168 | $92K | 15.3% | 0.4% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,593 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Lake Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
The towns next door employ 16% of Lake Township
The biggest share goes to Bridgman (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lake Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Township | – | B | C | 27 min | $83,241 |
| Bridgman | 6% | C | B+ | 19 min | $66,603 |
| Lincoln Township | 6% | B | C− | 19 min | $98,228 |
| Baroda Township | under 3% | B+ | C− | 20 min | $75,337 |
| Shorewood-Tower Hills-Harbert | under 3% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Chikaming Township | 4% | A− | C+ | 30 min | $83,908 |
Same-state neighbors only. Shorewood-Tower Hills-Harbert: 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 Lake 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 Lake Township: questions
What is the median household income in Lake Township?
$83,241 (±$20,322) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lake Township?
10.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lake Township?
27 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lake Township work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are St. Joseph (9%, 13 mi), Benton Township (6%, 15 mi), Lincoln Township (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Lake Township walkable?
Lake Township is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lake 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 Lake Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lake 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.