Lake Township has 0.2 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Only 1% work in Lake Township itself; outside it, Roscommon Township draws the most (9%, 10 miles). There are 53 jobs in Lake Township for 310 working residents. For jobs and income Lake Township is better than 15% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 15% of U.S. towns (C−).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Lake Township: the figures worth knowing
Lake Township is a place people come home to
There are 53 jobs based in Lake Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. Day and night ↓
Lake Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 40 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 307 hours of commuting, 123 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (18 to 27 minutes). Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
42% 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 ↓
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 310 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How Lake Township earns its Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate holds Lake Township’s grade up (12.8%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 7% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (3.2%) is left out: Lake 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, Lake Township could be anywhere from D− to C+.
The workday shuffle in and out of Lake Township
On a workday 306 residents head out to work, 4 work right here, and 49 people come in from elsewhere.
About 880 people are in Lake Township on a workday afternoon, 23% 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.
Each way, about 40 minutes from Lake Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.7 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 286 commuters (the 13% 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.
How far Lake Township goes to work
About 42% 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.
Out of Lake Township to work: where people go
Where Lake 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.
Lake Township is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lake Township, 2011 → 2021: 148 → 53. 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.
In Lake Township, the car does most of the work
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 329 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). 2.5% of Lake Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lake Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Lake Township is 2,789th among 3,771 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 95 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 225 | Petersburg MI | 1,152 | $83K | 1.8% | 1.7% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 275 | Freedom Township MI | 1,298 | $113K | 6.7% | 2.5% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,787 | Clark SD | 1,183 | $59K | 10.7% | 7.1% | 20% | C− |
| 2,788 | Indian Point Township IL | 1,387 | $63K | 16.8% | 6.3% | 5% | C− |
| 2,789 | Lake Township MI | 1,137 | $63K | 12.8% | 3.2% | 1% | C− |
| 2,790 | Warren NY | 1,021 | $73K | 19.3% | 1.6% | 1% | C− |
| 2,791 | Rome Township OH | 1,230 | $55K | 10.8% | 12.0% | 1% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | 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 Lake Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
The towns next door employ 16% of Lake Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lake Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Township | – | C− | C− | 40 min | $63,295 |
| Markey Township | 3% | D | D− | 27 min | $51,587 |
| Enterprise Township | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Lyon Township | under 2% | C | C | 23 min | $68,472 |
| Roscommon Township | 9% | C− | C− | 25 min | $53,186 |
| Gerrish Township | 4% | B | D | 18 min | $95,813 |
Same-state neighbors only. Enterprise Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Roscommon Township. 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?
$63,295 (±$13,206) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lake Township?
12.8%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lake Township?
40 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lake Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Roscommon Township (9%, 10 mi), Denton Township (8%, 8 mi), Gerrish Township (4%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Lake Township walkable?
Lake Township is more walkable than 15% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lake Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% 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.