Unemployment in Parchment (8.1%) is higher than in 88% of U.S. towns
Only 4% work in Parchment; the top destination outside it is Kalamazoo (27%, 4 miles). For jobs and income Parchment is better than 50% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (A). Working residents average 20 minutes each way, next to 24 for Michigan and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Parchment and work: the main findings
A lot of Parchment works one town over
32% of working residents work in a town that borders Parchment: Kalamazoo (27%) and Kalamazoo Township (5%). Next door ↓
Most Parchment residents work close to home
64% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Parchment has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Parchment went from 595 in 2011 to 919 in 2021, +54%. 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 837 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Parchment
Job access by car holds Parchment’s grade up (ahead of 72% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate.
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, Parchment could be anywhere from C to A.
How many miles Parchment commutes
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 Parchment, services account for most jobs
919 jobs are based in Parchment.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Parchment, 2011 → 2021: 595 → 919. 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 Parchment’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Parchment
On a workday 805 residents head out to work, 32 work right here, and 887 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 (1.10 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.
The places Parchment commutes to
Where Parchment clocks in
27% 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.
About 20 minutes each way for Parchment’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Parchment workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,035 commuters (the 11% 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.
Parchment is easy on foot, hard by bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,159 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). 5.8% of Parchment households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Parchment’s commuters take a bus or train.
Parchment places 2,181st of 5,656 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,500
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 102 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 212 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 255 | Sylvan Lake MI | 1,685 | $106K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,179 | Troy VT | 1,703 | $88K | 8.6% | 2.7% | 5% | B− |
| 2,180 | Helena West Side MT | 1,417 | $67K | 5.9% | 0.3% | 8% | B− |
| 2,181 | Parchment MI | 1,887 | $73K | 6.6% | 8.1% | 4% | B− |
| 2,182 | Salem SD | 1,357 | $75K | 5.6% | 0.8% | 17% | B− |
| 2,183 | Gridley Township IL | 1,845 | $63K | 4.6% | 2.1% | 3% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,656 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Parchment, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
32% of Parchment works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Parchment workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parchment | – | B− | A | 20 min | $72,798 |
| Kalamazoo Township | 5% | C+ | C+ | 21 min | $58,349 |
| Kalamazoo | 27% | C | A | 19 min | $52,272 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Kalamazoo. Darker towns draw more of Parchment’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 Parchment: questions
What is the median household income in Parchment?
$72,798 (±$21,380) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Parchment?
6.6%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Parchment?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Parchment work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kalamazoo (27%, 4 mi), Portage (11%, 9 mi), Oshtemo Township (6%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Parchment walkable?
Parchment is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Parchment without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Parchment, from the people who make the trip.
More of Parchment
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.