Photo: TCP04 · CC BY 4.0Fewer people are out of work in Montague (0.2%) than in 98% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Montague is behind 63% of U.S. towns. Montague grades B+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Commuters spend 18 minutes getting to work on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Montague and work: the main findings
Montague makes and builds things
61% of the jobs based in Montague are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Montague residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 32%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Montague are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
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 925 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Montague’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Montague is better than 70% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Montague’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 35% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
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, Montague could be anywhere from B to A−.
61% of the jobs in Montague make or build things
1,139 jobs are based in Montague.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Montague, 2011 → 2021: 890 → 1,139. 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 Montague’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 18 minutes each way for Montague’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Montague workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,116 commuters (the 7% 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.
A workday in Montague: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 818 residents head out to work, 107 work right here, and 1,032 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 (1.23 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.
14% of working residents work in Whitehall
Where Montague clocks in
14% of workers
11% 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.
The distance from Montague to work
About 19% 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.
In Montague, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Montague is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.8% across Michigan.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,194 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). 2.7% of Montague households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Montague’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Montague is 1,268th of 5,207 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 138 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,266 | Day Heights OH | 2,457 | $94K | 2.0% | 12.3% | <1% | B+ |
| 1,267 | Good Hope AL | 2,682 | $94K | 10.9% | 2.2% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,268 | Montague MI | 2,424 | $67K | 4.8% | 0.2% | 12% | B+ |
| 1,269 | Penndel PA | 2,507 | $76K | 11.8% | 3.2% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,270 | Wrightsville PA | 2,259 | $67K | 5.0% | 3.9% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,207 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Montague, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door is work for 14% of Montague
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Montague workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montague | – | B+ | B− | 18 min | $66,750 |
| Whitehall | 14% | B− | B− | 12 min | $61,169 |
| Montague Township | under 3% | B− | C+ | 17 min | $90,885 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Whitehall. Darker towns draw more of Montague’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 Montague: questions
What is the median household income in Montague?
$66,750 (±$16,009) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Montague?
4.8%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Montague?
18 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Montague work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Whitehall (14%, 1 mi), Muskegon (11%, 14 mi), Norton Shores (5%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Montague walkable?
Montague is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Montague 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 Montague, from the people who make the trip.
More of Montague
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.