Photo: kennethaw88 · CC BY 4.0Owosso has lower household incomes than 82% of U.S. towns
17.2% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 13.2% for Michigan as a whole. Owosso grades C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. 6% 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
What sets Owosso apart on work
No single place dominates Owosso’s commute
The biggest draw, Owosso Township, gets only 5% of working residents, and 54% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Owosso residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Owosso than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Owosso fell from 5,920 in 2011 to 4,460 in 2021, −25%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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.
The four measures behind Owosso’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Owosso is better than 24% of U.S. towns, #584 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Owosso’s grade up (ahead of 58% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($54,229, U.S. $80,734).
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, Owosso could be anywhere from C− to C+.
5% of working residents work in Owosso Township
Where Owosso 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.
Inside Owosso’s 4,460 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Owosso, 2011 → 2021: 5,920 → 4,460. 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 Owosso’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Owosso, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 4,741 residents head out to work, 1,089 work right here, and 3,371 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 (0.77 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.
Time on the road from Owosso: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Owosso workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,684 commuters (the 6% 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 distance from Owosso to work
About 27% 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.
The commute in Owosso is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Owosso is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns, #112 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Owosso 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 7,088 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). 9.0% of Owosso households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Owosso’s commuters take a bus or train.
Owosso is 1,871st of 2,227 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 19,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Southfield Township MI | 14,671 | $185K | 4.7% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,869 | Calumet Township IL | 17,950 | $50K | 18.3% | 16.8% | 2% | C− |
| 1,870 | Sierra Vista Southeast AZ | 14,330 | $75K | 8.0% | 8.3% | 6% | C− |
| 1,871 | Owosso MI | 14,437 | $54K | 17.2% | 5.5% | 19% | C− |
| 1,872 | Cambridge OH | 10,055 | $43K | 27.9% | 3.0% | 34% | C− |
| 1,873 | Verde Village AZ | 11,930 | $69K | 13.1% | 4.7% | 3% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,227 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Owosso, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
10% of Owosso works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Owosso Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Owosso workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owosso | – | C− | B+ | 23 min | $54,229 |
| Owosso Township | 5% | C+ | D | 25 min | $56,818 |
| Caledonia Township | 5% | C | B− | 25 min | $70,069 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Owosso’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 Owosso: questions
What is the median household income in Owosso?
$54,229 (±$4,373) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Owosso?
17.2%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Owosso?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Owosso work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Owosso Township (5%, 3 mi), Caledonia Township (5%, 4 mi), Corunna (5%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Owosso walkable?
Owosso is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Owosso without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Owosso, from the people who make the trip.
More of Owosso
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.