Cooke Hydroelectric Plant · Photo: Wikiskier1131992 · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Oscoda Township trail those of 94% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 25.3% (Michigan 13.2%). Oscoda Township grades D− for jobs and income and B for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 2% of workers (Michigan 14%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Oscoda Township: the figures worth knowing
Fewer than half of Oscoda Township workers earn over $40,000 a year
36% of Oscoda Township’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 20% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
A big share show a job far from home
45% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Commutes from Oscoda Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Oscoda Township workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Many jobs in Oscoda Township pay little
26% of the jobs based in Oscoda Township pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. 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.
What’s behind Oscoda Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oscoda Township is near the bottom of U.S. towns, #699 of 701 in Michigan. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Oscoda Township’s grade.
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, Oscoda Township could be anywhere from D− to D.
Inside Oscoda Township’s 983 jobs
983 jobs are based in Oscoda Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oscoda Township, 2011 → 2021: 940 → 983. 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 Oscoda Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Oscoda Township to work
About 45% 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.
Oscoda Township’s commute takes about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oscoda Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,606 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.
A workday in Oscoda Township: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,689 residents head out to work, 373 work right here, and 610 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,100 people are in Oscoda Township on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.48 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.
12% of working residents work in Au Sable Township
Where Oscoda Township 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.
Driving is how Oscoda Township gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oscoda Township is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns, #199 of 701 in Michigan. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 5.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 5.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,673 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). 4.7% of Oscoda Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Oscoda Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Oscoda Township compares with U.S. towns of 5,000 to 9,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Plymouth MI | 9,164 | $112K | 3.2% | 2.3% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,200 | Helena-West Helena AR | 8,216 | $36K | 31.7% | 17.7% | 34% | D− |
| 3,201 | Pahokee FL | 5,794 | $53K | 32.1% | 16.5% | 11% | D− |
| 3,202 | Oscoda Township MI | 7,158 | $43K | 25.3% | 9.9% | 18% | D− |
| 3,203 | Monroeville AL | 5,758 | $33K | 28.8% | 11.3% | 25% | D− |
| 3,204 | Tucumcari NM | 5,082 | $32K | 34.3% | 11.2% | 41% | D− |
| 3,205 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Oscoda Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
12% of Oscoda Township works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oscoda Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oscoda Township | – | D− | B | 17 min | $43,125 |
| Mikado Township | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Au Sable Township | 12% | D | C− | 17 min | $50,511 |
| Plainfield Township | under 2% | C− | B− | 30 min | $52,035 |
| Wilber Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Greenbush Township | under 2% | D | C− | 19 min | $62,813 |
| Curtis Township | under 2% | D− | B− | 32 min | $39,180 |
Same-state neighbors only. Mikado Township and Wilber Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Au Sable Township. Darker towns draw more of Oscoda 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 Oscoda Township: questions
What is the median household income in Oscoda Township?
$43,125 (±$9,227) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oscoda Township?
25.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oscoda Township?
17 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oscoda Township work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Au Sable Township (12%, 10 mi), Tawas City (4%, 14 mi), Baldwin Township (3%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Oscoda Township walkable?
Oscoda Township is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oscoda Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oscoda Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oscoda 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.