Marlborough Historic District · Photo: Great Northern Portland Cement Co · Public domainHousehold incomes put Pleasant Plains Township near the very bottom of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Pleasant Plains Township is among the lowest-earning towns in the country. Below the poverty line: 30.0% of residents, next to 13.2% for Michigan as a whole. Jobs and income earn Pleasant Plains Township D−; getting around on foot earns it B.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Pleasant Plains Township stands out on work
A big share show a job far from home
47% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Pleasant Plains Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Pleasant Plains Township fell from 995 in 2011 to 492 in 2021, −51%. 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 ↓
Few Pleasant Plains Township workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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; with 416 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Pleasant Plains Township
On income, poverty and job access, Pleasant Plains Township is near the bottom of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Pleasant Plains Township’s grade.
Unemployment (7.5%) is left out: Pleasant Plains Township’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
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 firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Pleasant Plains Township stays D−.
Half of Pleasant Plains Township commutes less than 36 miles
About 47% 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.
What work there is in Pleasant Plains Township: 492 jobs
492 jobs are based in Pleasant Plains Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pleasant Plains Township, 2011 → 2021: 995 → 492. 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 Pleasant Plains Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Pleasant Plains Township spends getting to work: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pleasant Plains Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 732 commuters (the 4% 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.
A workday in Pleasant Plains Township: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 379 residents head out to work, 37 work right here, and 455 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 (1.18 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.
7% of working residents work in Webber Township
Where Pleasant Plains Township clocks in
Lines 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.
Most of Pleasant Plains Township commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pleasant Plains Township is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Pleasant Plains 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 762 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). 10.2% of Pleasant Plains Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Pleasant Plains Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Pleasant Plains Township next to U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 206 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 249 | Sylvan Lake MI | 1,685 | $106K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 5,701 | Eagle Butte SD | 1,269 | $46K | 31.8% | 24.7% | 20% | D− |
| 5,702 | Menard TX | 1,356 | $41K | 26.7% | 9.2% | 26% | D− |
| 5,703 | Pleasant Plains Township MI | 1,737 | $33K | 30.0% | 7.5% | 9% | D− |
| 5,704 | Tsaile AZ | 1,696 | $49K | 46.2% | 6.2% | 8% | D− |
| 5,705 | Los Molinos CA | 1,604 | $35K | 34.4% | 13.1% | 6% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,760 | 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 Pleasant Plains Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Around Pleasant Plains Township: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Webber Township (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pleasant Plains Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Plains Township | – | D− | B | 27 min | $33,269 |
| Yates Township | under 2% | — | — | 42 min | — |
| Webber Township | 7% | D− | C+ | 27 min | $46,286 |
| Lake Township | under 2% | — | — | 48 min | — |
| Lilley Township | under 2% | — | — | 34 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Yates Township, Lake Township and Lilley Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Pleasant Plains 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 Pleasant Plains Township: questions
What is the median household income in Pleasant Plains Township?
$33,269 (±$8,402) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pleasant Plains Township?
30.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pleasant Plains Township?
27 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pleasant Plains Township work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Webber Township (7%, 6 mi), Reed City (7%, 19 mi), Grand Rapids (5%, 63 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Pleasant Plains Township walkable?
Pleasant Plains Township is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 6.8 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pleasant Plains Township without a car?
3% 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 Pleasant Plains Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pleasant Plains 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.