Pine River Township has lower unemployment (2.8%) than 73% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 21 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. Jobs and income earn Pine River Township B−; getting around on foot earns it C+. Only 4% work in Pine River Township itself; outside it, Alma draws the most (18%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Pine River Township in brief
A lot of Pine River Township works one town over
29% of working residents work in a town that borders Pine River Township: Alma (18%), St. Louis (9%) and Bethany Township (2%). Next door ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
52% of the jobs in Pine River Township are in trade, transport and utilities, against 18% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Pine River Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Pine River Township fell from 1,484 in 2011 to 1,056 in 2021, −29%. 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; with 930 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Income, poverty and work: Pine River Township’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pine River Township is better than 53% of U.S. towns. Unemployment holds Pine River Township’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 38% of U.S. towns). 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 fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pine River Township could be anywhere from C to B+.
The 1,056 jobs based in Pine River Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pine River Township, 2011 → 2021: 1,484 → 1,056. 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 Pine River Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Pine River Township
On a workday 889 residents head out to work, 41 work right here, and 1,015 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 (1.14 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 Pine River Township commutes to
Where Pine River Township clocks in
18% of workers
9% 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 21 minutes each way for Pine River Township’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pine River Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 998 commuters (the 10% 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.
How many miles Pine River Township commutes
About 20% 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.
For most of Pine River Township, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pine River Township is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Pine River 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 1,110 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). 2.9% of Pine River Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Pine River Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Pine River Township ranks: 2,247th of 5,552 U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,200
| # | 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 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 103 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 145 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,245 | Palermo ME | 1,636 | $89K | 4.8% | 2.3% | 3% | B− |
| 2,246 | Hope ME | 1,737 | $87K | 5.3% | 1.9% | 6% | B− |
| 2,247 | Pine River Township MI | 2,357 | $71K | 9.5% | 2.8% | 4% | B− |
| 2,248 | Lindley NY | 1,756 | $87K | 6.8% | 5.8% | 2% | B− |
| 2,249 | McKean Township OH | 1,661 | $100K | 19.9% | 9.0% | 2% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,552 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Pine River Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Work next door: 29% of Pine River Township’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pine River Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine River Township | – | B− | C+ | 21 min | $71,073 |
| St. Louis | 9% | C+ | C+ | 16 min | $51,167 |
| Alma | 18% | D | A | 19 min | $53,307 |
| Seville Township | under 2% | C+ | C− | 23 min | $76,020 |
| Coe Township | under 2% | C− | B− | 17 min | $59,878 |
| Bethany Township | 2% | B+ | C+ | 23 min | $80,461 |
| Arcada Township | under 2% | C+ | D | 22 min | $88,523 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Alma. Darker towns draw more of Pine River 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 Pine River Township: questions
What is the median household income in Pine River Township?
$71,073 (±$1,855) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pine River Township?
9.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pine River Township?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pine River Township work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Alma (18%, 3 mi), St. Louis (9%, 3 mi), Ithaca (6%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Pine River Township walkable?
Pine River Township is more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pine River Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pine River Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pine River 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.