Mason District Number 5 Schoolhouse · Photo: Jsgoodrich · CC BY-SA 3.0Mason Township has 0.1 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income C−: better than 22% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #595 of 701 in Michigan.
Walkability C−: more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns · #464 of 701 in Michigan.
Household incomes here are lower than in 74% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 24 minutes each way (Michigan 24, U.S. 26). Only 2% work in Mason Township; the top destination outside it is Elkhart (30%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Mason Township
Many Mason Township workers cross into Indiana
60% of Mason Township workers work outside Michigan, most of them in Indiana, the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Mason Township is a place people come home to
There are 180 jobs based in Mason Township, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Mason Township has about 1,700 people in it, 42% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
30% of Mason Township works in Elkhart
421 working residents, 30%, have their main job in Elkhart, IN, 6.6 miles away. That’s 15 times as many as work in Mason Township itself. The commute map ↓
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 Mason Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Mason Township is better than 22% of U.S. towns, #595 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Mason Township’s grade up (ahead of 66% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (22.0%, U.S. 12.5%).
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, Mason Township could be anywhere from D to B.
30% of working residents work in Elkhart
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Mason Township clocks in
30% of workers
7% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Mason Township quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,362 residents head out to work, 34 work right here, and 146 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,700 people are in Mason Township on a workday afternoon, 42% fewer than live here.
0.13 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
Mason Township makes things: 78% of its jobs are in goods
180 jobs are based in Mason Township. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Mason Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mason Township, 2011 → 2021: 149 → 180. 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.
About 24 minutes each way, about the MI average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mason Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 958 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Half of Mason Township commutes less than 12 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 17% 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.
Most trips from Mason Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mason Township is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns, #464 of 701 in Michigan. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 2.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,082 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). 5.2% of Mason Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Mason Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Mason Township is 3,721st of 4,882 U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,900 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Mason Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 144 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 240 | Milton Township MI | 3,187 | $119K | 3.2% | 2.3% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,719 | Galesburg MI | 2,071 | $52K | 25.7% | 6.9% | 2% | C− |
| 3,720 | Wheatland WY | 3,516 | $59K | 9.2% | 4.9% | 48% | C− |
| 3,721 | Mason Township MI | 2,874 | $60K | 22.0% | 6.8% | 2% | C− |
| 3,722 | Gaines NY | 3,301 | $57K | 10.6% | 7.5% | 3% | C− |
| 3,723 | Hilliard FL | 3,161 | $65K | 25.2% | 2.6% | 5% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,882 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 12% | 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.
Mason Township and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Ontwa Township (4%). Darker towns draw more of Mason Township’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mason Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mason Township | – | C− | C− | 24 min | $59,922 |
| Calvin Township | under 2% | B | D | 25 min | $80,813 |
| Porter Township | under 2% | C+ | C+ | 21 min | $79,681 |
| Ontwa Township | 4% | B | D | 25 min | $61,241 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Mason Township: questions
What is the median household income in Mason Township?
$59,922 (±$5,754) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mason Township?
22.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mason Township?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mason Township work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Elkhart (30%, 7 mi), South Bend (7%, 19 mi), Mishawaka (5%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Mason Township walkable?
Mason Township is more walkable than 24% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 2.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mason Township without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mason Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mason 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.