Household incomes in Lakeview are lower than in 98% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Lakeview are D− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Below the poverty line: 30.4% of residents; Michigan has 13.2%. Only 7% work in Lakeview; the top destination outside it is Cato Township (15%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Lakeview and work: the main findings
Lakeview and Cato Township trade workers both ways
Cato Township is the top workplace for Lakeview residents (15%) and also where the most people who work in Lakeview come from (18% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Lakeview workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 77 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 364 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Lakeview
On income, poverty and job access, Lakeview is near the bottom of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Lakeview’s grade.
Unemployment (21.2%) is left out: Lakeview’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, Lakeview could be anywhere from D− to D.
Where Lakeview’s working residents head each day
Where Lakeview clocks in
5% 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 Lakeview: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lakeview workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 274 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.
Lakeview on a workday afternoon
On a workday 339 residents head out to work, 25 work right here, and 326 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.96 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 351 jobs based in Lakeview
351 jobs are based in Lakeview.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lakeview, 2011 → 2021: 163 → 351. 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 Lakeview’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Lakeview to work
About 23% 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.
Getting around Lakeview: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lakeview is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.5% 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 301 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). 6.9% of Lakeview households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Lakeview’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Lakeview sits among U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 172 | Petersburg MI | 1,152 | $83K | 1.8% | 1.7% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 216 | Freedom Township MI | 1,298 | $113K | 6.7% | 2.5% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,035 | Monroe Township OH | 1,356 | $43K | 36.3% | 5.5% | 2% | D− |
| 3,036 | Berry AL | 1,192 | $37K | 29.0% | 1.3% | 6% | D− |
| 3,037 | Lakeview MI | 1,048 | $34K | 30.4% | 21.2% | 7% | D− |
| 3,038 | Rolling Fork MS | 1,387 | $46K | 24.5% | 6.9% | 24% | D− |
| 3,039 | Dexter NM | 1,049 | $44K | 41.3% | 10.7% | 10% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | 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 Lakeview, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
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 Lakeview: questions
What is the median household income in Lakeview?
$33,631 (±$9,722) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lakeview?
30.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lakeview?
34 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lakeview work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cato Township (15%, 2 mi), Grand Rapids (12%, 39 mi), Greenville (5%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Lakeview walkable?
Lakeview is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lakeview without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lakeview, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lakeview
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.