Households in Melrose Township have higher incomes than those in 74% of U.S. towns
3.9% of residents are in poverty, next to 13.2% for Michigan as a whole. The two grades for Melrose Township are B+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Only 7% work in Melrose Township itself; outside it, Petoskey draws the most (17%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The figures behind Melrose Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Melrose Township is better than 68% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Melrose Township’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 23% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (1.1%) is left out: Melrose 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, Melrose Township could be anywhere from B to A−.
Melrose Township by day and by night
On a workday 488 residents head out to work, 39 work right here, and 332 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,200 people are in Melrose Township on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
0.70 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.
The places Melrose Township commutes to
Where Melrose Township clocks in
17% of workers
8% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Melrose Township
371 jobs are based in Melrose Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Melrose Township, 2011 → 2021: 76 → 371. 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 Melrose Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 21 minutes each way for Melrose Township’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Melrose Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 705 commuters (the 10% 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 many miles Melrose Township commutes
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.
The commute in Melrose Township is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Melrose Township is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 5.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 784 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). 2.6% of Melrose Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Melrose Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 5,877 U.S. towns of 1,000 to 1,900, Melrose Township comes 1,147th 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 152 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 187 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,145 | Pleasantville IA | 1,699 | $68K | 4.1% | 2.1% | 12% | B+ |
| 1,146 | Atglen PA | 1,403 | $120K | 13.8% | 4.4% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,147 | Melrose Township MI | 1,404 | $97K | 3.9% | 1.1% | 7% | B+ |
| 1,148 | Calvert Beach MD | 1,074 | $90K | 2.1% | 7.8% | 0% | B+ |
| 1,149 | Perry OH | 1,599 | $94K | 10.5% | 1.9% | 6% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,877 | 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 Melrose Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
16% of Melrose Township works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Bear Creek Township (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Melrose Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melrose Township | – | B+ | B− | 21 min | $97,059 |
| Resort Township | 3% | B+ | B− | 20 min | $103,929 |
| Evangeline Township | under 3% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Chandler Township | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Bear Creek Township | 8% | B− | B | 20 min | $71,090 |
| Boyne Valley Township | 5% | C+ | C | 23 min | $76,653 |
Same-state neighbors only. Evangeline Township and Chandler Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Melrose 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 Melrose Township: questions
What is the median household income in Melrose Township?
$97,059 (±$10,541) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Melrose Township?
3.9%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Melrose Township?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Melrose Township work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Petoskey (17%, 9 mi), Boyne City (9%, 5 mi), Bear Creek Township (8%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Melrose Township walkable?
Melrose Township is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 5.8 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Melrose Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Melrose Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Melrose 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.