Niles Railroad Depot · Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0Unemployment in Niles (10.8%) is higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Niles is better than 17% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (B+). Measured by household income, Niles is behind 86% of U.S. towns. 5% of workers have no commute at all; Michigan has 14%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Niles: the gist
Niles trades workers with the towns around it
Niles has about as many jobs (4,464) as working residents (4,556), but they are mostly different people: 3,973 residents leave for work each day while 3,881 people come in. Only 13% of the jobs in Niles are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Niles workers cross into Indiana
31% of Niles workers work outside Michigan, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, South Bend (12%), Mishawaka (6%) and Elkhart (3%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
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.
Where Niles’ Jobs & income grade comes from
Job access by car holds Niles’ grade up (ahead of 68% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
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, Niles could be anywhere from D to C.
Who leaves Niles for work, and who comes in
On a workday 3,973 residents head out to work, 583 work right here, and 3,881 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 (0.98 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.
12% of working residents work in South Bend
Where Niles clocks in
12% of workers
6% of workers
6% 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 4,464 jobs based in Niles
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Niles, 2011 → 2021: 5,717 → 4,464. 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 Niles’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 23 minutes in Niles
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Niles workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,023 commuters (the 5% 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 Niles, by distance
About 23% 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.
Getting around Niles: mostly by car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,294 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). 12.6% of Niles households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Niles’ commuters take a bus or train.
Niles is 2,395th of 2,695 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 16,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,393 | Sheffield AL | 9,416 | $40K | 26.6% | 5.2% | 10% | C− |
| 2,394 | Fort Morgan CO | 11,841 | $64K | 16.0% | 6.4% | 46% | C− |
| 2,395 | Niles MI | 11,665 | $51K | 17.8% | 10.8% | 13% | C− |
| 2,396 | Bolivar MO | 11,994 | $50K | 18.8% | 4.7% | 28% | C− |
| 2,397 | Fulton MO | 12,853 | $51K | 13.9% | 9.5% | 32% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,695 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Niles, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Niles and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Niles Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Niles workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niles | – | C− | B+ | 23 min | $51,376 |
| Niles Township | 6% | C+ | C− | 23 min | $63,459 |
| Howard Township | under 2% | B+ | C− | 26 min | $79,226 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Niles’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 Niles: questions
What is the median household income in Niles?
$51,376 (±$4,316) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Niles?
17.8%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Niles?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Niles work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are South Bend (12%, 11 mi), Mishawaka (6%, 12 mi), Niles Township (6%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Niles walkable?
Niles is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Niles without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Niles, from the people who make the trip.
More of Niles
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.