Lakefield Township has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
For jobs and income Lakefield Township is better than 15% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (C). Lakefield Township has 176 jobs, against 351 working residents. Household incomes here are lower than in 79% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Lakefield Township apart on work
Lakefield Township and McMillan Township trade workers both ways
McMillan Township is the top workplace for Lakefield Township residents (28%) and also where the most people who work in Lakefield Township come from (20% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
38% 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 ↓
Lakefield Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 30 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 230 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. 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 351 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Lakefield Township’s Jobs & income grade comes from
The poverty rate holds Lakefield Township’s grade up (9.5%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (near the bottom of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (3.7%) is left out: Lakefield 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, Lakefield Township could be anywhere from D to C.
28% of working residents work in McMillan Township
Where Lakefield Township clocks in
3% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Lakefield Township
About 38% 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.
From Lakefield Township, about 30 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lakefield Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 336 commuters (the 6% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Lakefield Township
On a workday 320 residents head out to work, 31 work right here, and 145 people come in from elsewhere.
About 920 people are in Lakefield Township on a workday afternoon, 16% 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.
What Lakefield Township’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lakefield Township, 2011 → 2021: 87 → 176. 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 Lakefield Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Lakefield Township, most people drive to work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 5.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 358 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). 0.0% of Lakefield Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Lakefield Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,771 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500, Lakefield Township comes 2,812th on jobs and income
| # | 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− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,810 | Blue Lake CA | 1,144 | $54K | 16.1% | 10.0% | 2% | D |
| 2,811 | Jackson Township IL | 1,221 | $73K | 27.9% | 0.0% | <1% | D |
| 2,812 | Lakefield Township MI | 1,095 | $56K | 9.5% | 3.7% | 9% | D |
| 2,813 | Biola CA | 1,070 | $43K | 38.0% | 4.2% | 2% | D |
| 2,814 | Holstein IA | 1,470 | $64K | 16.8% | 0.7% | 29% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Lakefield Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Bordering towns draw 18% of Lakefield Township’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lakefield Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakefield Township | – | D | C | 30 min | $56,484 |
| Columbus Township | under 1% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Portage Township | 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Pentland Township | 15% | C− | C+ | 17 min | $68,607 |
| Germfask Township | under 1% | — | — | 36 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Columbus Township, Portage Township and Germfask Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Pentland Township. Darker towns draw more of Lakefield 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 Lakefield Township: questions
What is the median household income in Lakefield Township?
$56,484 (±$7,223) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lakefield Township?
9.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lakefield Township?
30 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lakefield Township work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are McMillan Township (28%, 19 mi), Pentland Township (15%, 15 mi), Sault Ste. Marie (3%, 67 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Lakefield Township walkable?
Lakefield Township is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lakefield Township without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lakefield Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lakefield 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.