Household incomes in Mentor Township trail those of 94% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Mentor Township; the top destination outside it is Comins Township (12%, 9 miles). 23.3% of residents live below the poverty line, against 13.2% across Michigan. The two grades for Mentor Township are D− for jobs and income and B− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Mentor Township: the gist
A big share show a job far from home
43% 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 ↓
The quickest commute around
Mentor Township’s 20-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 25 to 39 minutes. Next door ↓
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 285 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Mentor Township
On income, poverty and job access, Mentor Township is near the bottom of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Mentor Township’s grade.
Unemployment (9.3%) is left out: Mentor 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, Mentor Township could be anywhere from D− to D.
Near or far: the trip to work from Mentor Township
About 43% 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.
Mentor Township on a workday afternoon
On a workday 256 residents head out to work, 29 work right here, and 200 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 (0.80 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.
Out of Mentor Township to work: where people go
Where Mentor Township 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.
Inside Mentor Township’s 229 jobs
229 jobs are based in Mentor Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mentor Township, 2011 → 2021: 81 → 229. 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 Mentor Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Mentor Township takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mentor Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 239 commuters (the 8% 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.
Few in Mentor Township walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mentor Township is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Mentor Township near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 261 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). 14.3% of Mentor Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Mentor Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Mentor Township compares with U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500
| # | 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− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,698 | Robert Lee TX | 1,061 | $34K | 27.0% | 3.1% | 26% | D− |
| 3,699 | Wendover UT | 1,135 | $44K | 26.0% | 2.7% | 8% | D− |
| 3,700 | Mentor Township MI | 1,101 | $43K | 23.3% | 9.3% | 10% | D− |
| 3,701 | Farmersville NY | 1,073 | $48K | 40.6% | 8.5% | 1% | D− |
| 3,702 | Mammoth AZ | 1,149 | $47K | 29.0% | 17.6% | 3% | 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 Mentor Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
23% of Mentor Township works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mentor Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mentor Township | – | D− | B− | 20 min | $42,500 |
| Comins Township | 12% | D | B− | 25 min | $52,500 |
| Mitchell Township | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Big Creek Township | 11% | D− | C | 32 min | $48,438 |
| Rose Township | under 2% | D | C− | 27 min | $55,491 |
| Goodar Township | under 2% | — | — | 39 min | — |
| Mio | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Curtis Township | under 2% | D− | B− | 32 min | $39,180 |
Same-state neighbors only. Mitchell Township and Goodar Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Mio: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Comins Township. Darker towns draw more of Mentor 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 Mentor Township: questions
What is the median household income in Mentor Township?
$42,500 (±$8,135) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mentor Township?
23.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mentor Township?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mentor Township work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Comins Township (12%, 9 mi), Big Creek Township (11%, 12 mi), Elmer Township (6%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Mentor Township walkable?
Mentor Township is more walkable than 46% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mentor Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mentor Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mentor 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.