S.S. BADGER (carferry) · Photo: Lynnewu · CC BY-SA 4.0Ludington’s household incomes are lower than in 92% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 14 minutes each way; Michigan averages 24, the U.S. 26. 22.5% of residents live below the poverty line; Michigan has 13.2%. For jobs and income Ludington is better than 18% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Ludington, in brief
Ludington trades workers with the towns around it
Ludington has about as many jobs (3,231) as working residents (2,888), but they are mostly different people: 2,158 residents leave for work each day while 2,501 people come in. Only 23% of the jobs in Ludington are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Ludington are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
A big share show a job far from home
40% 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 ↓
Fewer than half of Ludington workers earn over $40,000 a year
44% of Ludington’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 19% earn $1,250 a month or less. 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.
What’s behind Ludington’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Ludington’s grade up (3.6%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($46,411, U.S. $80,734).
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, poverty and unemployment, Ludington could be anywhere from D to C+.
In and out of Ludington on a workday
On a workday 2,158 residents head out to work, 730 work right here, and 2,501 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 (1.12 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.
Each way, about 14 minutes from Ludington
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ludington workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,675 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Ludington
About 40% 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.
Ludington makes things: 31% of its jobs are in goods
3,231 jobs are based in Ludington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ludington, 2011 → 2021: 3,911 → 3,231. 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 Ludington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
14% of working residents work in Pere Marquette Township
Where Ludington 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.
In Ludington, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,084 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). 9.8% of Ludington households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Ludington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Ludington is 2,707th among 3,111 U.S. towns of 5,300 to 10,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,705 | Georgetown Township IL | 7,100 | $57K | 19.4% | 5.4% | 9% | C− |
| 2,706 | Keokuk IA | 9,510 | $53K | 18.3% | 4.9% | 45% | C− |
| 2,707 | Ludington MI | 7,634 | $46K | 22.5% | 3.6% | 25% | C− |
| 2,708 | Pontotoc MS | 6,156 | $46K | 17.4% | 5.4% | 28% | C− |
| 2,709 | Clinton MO | 9,504 | $51K | 15.2% | 4.7% | 42% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,111 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Ludington, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Ludington and its neighbors: 14% work next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ludington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ludington | – | C− | A | 14 min | $46,411 |
| Pere Marquette Township | 14% | B | B+ | 15 min | $84,531 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Pere Marquette Township. Darker towns draw more of Ludington’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 Ludington: questions
What is the median household income in Ludington?
$46,411 (±$9,605) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ludington?
22.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ludington?
14 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ludington work?
25% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pere Marquette Township (14%, 2 mi), Grand Rapids (5%, 79 mi), Amber Township (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Ludington walkable?
Ludington is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ludington without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ludington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ludington
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.