Benjamin and Maria (Ogden) Drake Farm · Photo: Karen High2 · CC BY-SA 3.0Oshtemo Township has higher unemployment (6.6%) than 79% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Oshtemo Township C; getting around on foot earns it B. Measured by household income, Oshtemo Township is behind 77% of U.S. towns. About one in ten stay in Oshtemo Township for work; outside it, Kalamazoo is the main destination (27%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Oshtemo Township: the gist
Oshtemo Township trades workers with the towns around it
Oshtemo Township has about as many jobs (10,179) as working residents (9,334), but they are mostly different people: 8,567 residents leave for work each day while 9,412 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in Oshtemo Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Oshtemo Township works one town over
34% of working residents work in a town that borders Oshtemo Township: Kalamazoo (27%), Kalamazoo Township (4%) and Texas Township (3%). Next door ↓
Oshtemo Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Oshtemo Township went from 7,224 in 2011 to 10,179 in 2021, +41%. The jobs ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
34% of the jobs based in Oshtemo Township are held by workers 29 or younger, against 28% of Oshtemo Township’s own working residents. The jobs ↓
Oshtemo Township draws workers from far and wide
The 10,179 jobs in Oshtemo Township are filled from a wide area. Oshtemo Township’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 37%; the other 55% come from many towns beyond those. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Oshtemo Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Oshtemo Township is better than 26% of U.S. towns, #579 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Oshtemo Township’s grade up (ahead of 72% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (19.5%, U.S. 12.5%).
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, Oshtemo Township could be anywhere from D to B−.
In and out of Oshtemo Township on a workday
On a workday 8,567 residents head out to work, 767 work right here, and 9,412 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 (1.09 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.
Jobs in Oshtemo Township: what the 10,179 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Oshtemo Township, 2011 → 2021: 7,224 → 10,179. 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 Oshtemo Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Oshtemo Township’s working residents head each day
Where Oshtemo Township clocks in
27% of workers
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.
From Oshtemo Township, about 22 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Oshtemo Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,274 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.
Miles to work from Oshtemo Township
About 15% 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 Oshtemo Township: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Oshtemo Township is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns, #198 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Oshtemo 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 10,501 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). 12.2% of Oshtemo Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Oshtemo Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Oshtemo Township places 1,364th of 1,577 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 17,000 to 32,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Northville Township MI | 31,399 | $151K | 3.1% | 2.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Oakland Township MI | 20,631 | $167K | 2.7% | 3.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 105 | Cascade Township MI | 20,201 | $136K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,362 | Horizon City TX | 25,118 | $66K | 22.0% | 9.1% | 8% | C |
| 1,363 | Ottawa IL | 18,684 | $71K | 17.3% | 6.9% | 27% | C |
| 1,364 | Oshtemo Township MI | 23,971 | $58K | 19.5% | 6.6% | 8% | C |
| 1,365 | Chillicothe OH | 21,815 | $54K | 17.4% | 4.9% | 29% | C |
| 1,366 | Bristol TN | 28,107 | $58K | 13.6% | 6.8% | 26% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,577 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | 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 Oshtemo Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Oshtemo Township and its neighbors: 34% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Oshtemo Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oshtemo Township | – | C | B | 22 min | $58,020 |
| Kalamazoo | 27% | C | A | 19 min | $52,272 |
| Texas Township | 3% | A− | C− | 21 min | $147,128 |
| Alamo Township | under 2% | A | D | 22 min | $87,113 |
| Kalamazoo Township | 4% | C+ | C+ | 21 min | $58,349 |
| Almena Township | under 2% | A | D | 26 min | $107,901 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Kalamazoo. Darker towns draw more of Oshtemo 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 Oshtemo Township: questions
What is the median household income in Oshtemo Township?
$58,020 (±$10,928) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Oshtemo Township?
19.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Oshtemo Township?
22 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Oshtemo Township work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kalamazoo (27%, 6 mi), Portage (11%, 9 mi), Kalamazoo Township (4%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Oshtemo Township walkable?
Oshtemo Township is more walkable than 59% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Oshtemo Township without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Oshtemo Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Oshtemo 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.