Photo: Dj1997 · CC BY-SA 3.0Families in Meridian Township earn more than those in 87% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Meridian Township A; getting around on foot earns it A. Leaving out college students, 6.8% of residents live below the poverty line (Michigan 12.5%). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 7.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 8.6 in Lansing.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Meridian Township, in brief
The better-paid jobs are outside Meridian Township
66% of Meridian Township residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 40% of the jobs based in Meridian Township pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 90% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Meridian Township and Lansing trade workers both ways
Lansing is the top workplace for Meridian Township residents (23%) and also where the most people who work in Meridian Township come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Home offices are common in Meridian Township
23% of Meridian Township workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Time on the road ↓
Most Meridian Township residents work close to home
60% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Many jobs in Meridian Township pay little
26% of the jobs based in Meridian Township pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 35% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Meridian Township
On family income, poverty and job access, Meridian Township is better than 90% of U.S. towns, #64 of 701 in Michigan. Family income is its strongest input ($137,479, U.S. $99,999); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
16% of Meridian Township’s residents are college students, and off-campus students count in the Census poverty figures. Where students are 15% or more of the people the Census checks for poverty (16% here), the grade uses the rate without them: 6.8%, against 13.1% for all residents. Unemployment (3.6%) is left out here: students looking for part-time work count as unemployed. Income is ranked as median family income ($137,479), since student households pull the household median down ($86,909).
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is three years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for family income and poverty, Meridian Township could be anywhere from A− to A+.
What Meridian Township’s employers do
12,443 jobs are based in Meridian Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Meridian Township, 2011 → 2021: 15,814 → 12,443. 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 Meridian Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
23% of working residents work in Lansing
Where Meridian Township clocks in
23% of workers
18% 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.
Time on the road from Meridian Township: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Meridian Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,196 commuters (the 23% 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.
The commute from Meridian Township, by distance
About 22% 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.
Who works in Meridian Township, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 15,431 residents head out to work, 1,714 work right here, and 10,729 people come in from elsewhere.
About 40,000 people are in Meridian Township on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.73 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.
In Meridian Township, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Meridian Township is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns, #24 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Meridian 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 22,416 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 80% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 14% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 90% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.8% of Meridian Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Meridian Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Meridian Township places 170th of 1,021 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 31,000 to 61,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Northville Township MI | 31,399 | $151K | 3.1% | 2.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 74 | Bloomfield Township MI | 43,904 | $163K | 4.8% | 3.6% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 92 | Independence Township MI | 37,725 | $115K | 4.3% | 2.9% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 168 | Freehold Township NJ | 36,052 | $129K | 5.6% | 3.7% | 11% | A |
| 169 | Braintree Town MA | 38,957 | $122K | 5.9% | 4.0% | 11% | A |
| 170 | Meridian Township MI | 44,869 | $87K | 13.1% | 3.6% | 10% | A |
| 171 | Manheim Township PA | 44,826 | $102K | 5.8% | 2.7% | 16% | A |
| 172 | Rancho Santa Margarita CA | 45,779 | $153K | 5.7% | 4.1% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,021 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 Meridian Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Meridian Township and its neighbors: 21% work next door
The biggest share goes to East Lansing (18%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Meridian Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meridian Township | – | A | A | 21 min | $86,909 |
| East Lansing | 18% | A− | A+ | 16 min | $45,687 |
| Bath Township | under 2% | B+ | B | 22 min | $75,541 |
| Williamstown Township | under 2% | A | C+ | 23 min | $114,792 |
| Alaiedon Township | 3% | B+ | B− | 21 min | $94,042 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Meridian 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.
- Students. 16% of residents are college students; the poverty input leaves off-campus students out (above).
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Meridian Township: questions
What is the median household income in Meridian Township?
$86,909 (±$6,743) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Meridian Township?
13.1% of residents live below the poverty line; leaving out college students, 6.8%. Michigan: 13.2%.
How long is the commute from Meridian Township?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Meridian Township work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lansing (23%, 7 mi), East Lansing (18%, 4 mi), Delta Township (3%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Meridian Township walkable?
Meridian Township is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.7 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Meridian Township without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 14% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Meridian Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Meridian 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.