Newaygo’s household incomes are lower than in 96% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 19.9% of residents, where Michigan as a whole has 13.2%. For jobs and income Newaygo is better than 5% of U.S. towns (D−); for walkability it is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (B). 3% of workers have no commute at all, against 14% across Michigan.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Newaygo and work: the main findings
Jobs in Newaygo have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Newaygo went from 648 in 2011 to 1,951 in 2021, +201%. The jobs ↓
Newaygo is where the jobs are
Newaygo has 1,951 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Newaygo makes and builds things
68% of the jobs based in Newaygo are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Newaygo residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 32%. 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; with 971 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Newaygo’s grade
All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Newaygo’s grade.
Unemployment (5.5%) is left out: Newaygo’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, Newaygo could be anywhere from D− to D.
Goods, not services: 68% of the jobs in Newaygo
1,951 jobs are based in Newaygo.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Newaygo, 2011 → 2021: 648 → 1,951. 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 Newaygo’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Newaygo
On a workday 841 residents head out to work, 130 work right here, and 1,821 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,500 people are in Newaygo on a workday afternoon, 38% more than live here.
2.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Where the people who work in Newaygo live
Where Newaygo clocks in
4% 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 trip to work from Newaygo: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Newaygo workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 881 commuters (the 3% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Newaygo
About 16% 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 Newaygo, the car does most of the work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 4.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 6.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 911 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). 14.1% of Newaygo households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Newaygo’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Newaygo sits among U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 129 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 216 | Milton Township MI | 3,187 | $119K | 3.2% | 2.3% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,555 | Cumberland WI | 2,282 | $49K | 37.1% | 7.1% | 21% | D− |
| 4,556 | Sylvania GA | 2,704 | $46K | 20.9% | 1.8% | 17% | D− |
| 4,557 | Newaygo MI | 2,547 | $41K | 19.9% | 5.5% | 13% | D− |
| 4,558 | Clarksville TX | 2,908 | $33K | 16.5% | 7.5% | 25% | D− |
| 4,559 | Coal Township OH | 1,986 | $56K | 26.6% | 15.3% | 1% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,868 | 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 Newaygo, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door to Newaygo
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Newaygo workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newaygo | – | D− | B | 28 min | $40,689 |
| Garfield Township | under 3% | B | C | 35 min | $84,688 |
| Brooks Township | under 3% | B− | D | 34 min | $77,734 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Newaygo’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 Newaygo: questions
What is the median household income in Newaygo?
$40,689 (±$5,235) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Newaygo?
19.9%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Newaygo?
28 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Newaygo work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (11%, 32 mi), Walker (4%, 29 mi), Fremont (4%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Newaygo walkable?
Newaygo is more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Newaygo 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 Newaygo, from the people who make the trip.
More of Newaygo
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.