Elk Rapids Township Hall · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.2 jobs for every working resident, most of Nelson Township works elsewhere
Only 2% work in Nelson Township itself; outside it, Grand Rapids draws the most (20%, 22 miles). Employers in Nelson Township report 374 jobs for 2,114 working residents. The two grades for Nelson Township are B for jobs and income and C− for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Nelson Township, in brief
Nelson Township is a place people come home to
There are 374 jobs based in Nelson Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Nelson Township has about 3,300 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Nelson Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Nelson Township is Grand Rapids, 22 miles away as the crow flies. 20% of working residents (428) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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.
The figures behind Nelson Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Nelson Township is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #302 of 701 in Michigan. Unemployment holds Nelson Township’s grade up (2.0%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($66,735, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
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, Nelson Township could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
How a workday changes Nelson Township
On a workday 2,070 residents head out to work, 44 work right here, and 330 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,300 people are in Nelson Township on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
How far Nelson Township’s workers travel
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.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Commuting out of Nelson Township: the destinations
Where Nelson Township clocks in
5% of workers
5% 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.
Nelson Township makes things: 33% of its jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Nelson Township, 2011 → 2021: 303 → 374. 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 Nelson Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Nelson Township: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Nelson Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,012 commuters (the 12% 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.
For most of Nelson Township, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Nelson Township is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns, #539 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Nelson 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 2,276 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 4.0% of Nelson Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Nelson Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,800, Nelson Township ranks 1,548th of 3,758 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 55 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 126 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,546 | Tequesta FL | 6,299 | $98K | 7.7% | 6.2% | 7% | B |
| 1,547 | Foster Township IL | 3,871 | $111K | 7.4% | 7.8% | 1% | B |
| 1,548 | Nelson Township MI | 5,054 | $67K | 9.7% | 2.0% | 2% | B |
| 1,549 | Northwood NH | 4,757 | $129K | 7.5% | 3.6% | 9% | B |
| 1,550 | Gilmanton NH | 4,060 | $117K | 4.0% | 5.2% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,758 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Nelson Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Around Nelson Township: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Cedar Springs (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Nelson Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson Township | – | B | C− | 28 min | $66,735 |
| Cedar Springs | 5% | C | B+ | 29 min | $57,979 |
| Spencer Township | under 2% | B | D | 35 min | $82,571 |
| Courtland Township | under 2% | A | D | 28 min | $107,321 |
| Pierson Township | under 2% | A− | D | 39 min | $86,450 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Nelson 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 Nelson Township: questions
What is the median household income in Nelson Township?
$66,735 (±$10,423) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Nelson Township?
9.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Nelson Township?
28 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Nelson Township work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (20%, 22 mi), Cedar Springs (5%, 4 mi), Plainfield Township (5%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Nelson Township walkable?
Nelson Township is more walkable than 16% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.5 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Nelson Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Nelson Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Nelson 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.