Photo: Lawrence G. Miller (Lawrence G. Miller on en.wikipedia) · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Paw Paw are lower than in 95% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Paw Paw is better than 18% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (A). Below the poverty line: 21.9% of residents, next to 13.2% across Michigan. About one in ten stay in Paw Paw for work; outside it, Paw Paw Township is the main destination (13%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Paw Paw
Paw Paw is where the jobs are
Paw Paw has 2,524 jobs, 1.9 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Paw Paw are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
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 figures behind Paw Paw’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Paw Paw’s grade up (ahead of 61% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($41,587, 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 three years behind.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Paw Paw could be anywhere from D to B−.
A workday in Paw Paw: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 1,224 residents head out to work, 139 work right here, and 2,385 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,500 people are in Paw Paw on a workday afternoon, 34% more than live here.
1.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
About 18 minutes to work from Paw Paw
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Paw Paw workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,158 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.
Where Paw Paw’s workforce comes from
Where Paw Paw clocks in
13% of workers
12% 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.
Jobs in Paw Paw: what the 2,524 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Paw Paw, 2011 → 2021: 2,555 → 2,524. 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 Paw Paw’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Paw Paw works
About 16% 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.
Paw Paw is easy on foot, hard by bus
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 12.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 8.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,295 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). 9.8% of Paw Paw households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Paw Paw’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Paw Paw is 3,653rd among 4,402 U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 122 | Ann Arbor Township MI | 4,506 | $165K | 7.2% | 0.5% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 142 | Dexter MI | 4,461 | $107K | 0.8% | 2.1% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,651 | Kelly Ridge CA | 2,825 | $55K | 12.3% | 5.8% | 2% | C− |
| 3,652 | Centerville IN | 2,742 | $50K | 14.2% | 7.4% | 6% | C− |
| 3,653 | Paw Paw MI | 3,386 | $42K | 21.9% | 5.7% | 10% | C− |
| 3,654 | Wisconsin Dells WI | 3,149 | $55K | 11.3% | 15.5% | 17% | C− |
| 3,655 | Norridgewock ME | 3,304 | $62K | 20.9% | 4.9% | 8% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,402 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Paw Paw, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Work next door: 24% of Paw Paw’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Paw Paw workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paw Paw | – | C− | A | 18 min | $41,587 |
| Paw Paw Township | 13% | C | B+ | 23 min | $60,828 |
| Antwerp Township | 11% | B | C+ | 22 min | $80,234 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Paw Paw Township. Darker towns draw more of Paw Paw’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 Paw Paw: questions
What is the median household income in Paw Paw?
$41,587 (±$10,395) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Paw Paw?
21.9%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Paw Paw?
18 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Paw Paw work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Paw Paw Township (13%, 3 mi), Kalamazoo (12%, 16 mi), Antwerp Township (11%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Paw Paw walkable?
Paw Paw is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Paw Paw without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Paw Paw, from the people who make the trip.
More of Paw Paw
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.