Fewer people are out of work in Portage Township (3.2%) than in 66% of U.S. towns
Only 6% work in Portage Township; the top destination outside it is Houghton (34%, 10 miles). Portage Township grades C+ for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. Commuters spend 15 minutes getting to work on average, where Michigan has 24 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Portage Township: the figures worth knowing
Much of Portage Township works one town over
59% of working residents work in a town that borders Portage Township: Houghton (34%), Hancock (15%) and Baraga Township (5%). Next door ↓
Portage Township trades workers with the towns around it
Portage Township has about as many jobs (872) as working residents (1,009), but they are mostly different people: 953 residents leave for work each day while 816 people come in. Only 6% of the jobs in Portage Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Jobs in Portage Township have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Portage Township went from 433 in 2011 to 872 in 2021, +101%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Portage Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
Many jobs in Portage Township pay little
30% of the jobs based in Portage Township pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Jobs & income in Portage Township: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Portage Township is better than 40% of U.S. towns, #486 of 701 in Michigan. Unemployment holds Portage Township’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 12% 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 three years behind.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Portage Township could be anywhere from D to B+.
Who commutes out of Portage Township, and who commutes in
On a workday 953 residents head out to work, 56 work right here, and 816 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 (0.86 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.
What Portage Township’s employers do
872 jobs are based in Portage Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Portage Township, 2011 → 2021: 433 → 872. 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 Portage Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Portage Township spends getting to work: about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Portage Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,519 commuters (the 12% 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 people from Portage Township work
Where Portage Township clocks in
34% of workers
15% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Portage Township
About 23% 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.
Most trips from Portage Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Portage Township is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns, #135 of 701 in Michigan. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 13.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 5.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,719 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). 3.2% of Portage Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Portage Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Portage Township is 2,679th of 4,453 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 138 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 154 | Lima Township MI | 4,215 | $119K | 1.5% | 2.1% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,677 | Patoka Township IN | 2,759 | $67K | 16.2% | 1.9% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,678 | Colon Township MI | 3,336 | $66K | 9.2% | 3.5% | 10% | C+ |
| 2,679 | Portage Township MI | 3,234 | $67K | 8.6% | 3.2% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,680 | Spring Valley MN | 2,431 | $66K | 9.3% | 3.9% | 20% | C+ |
| 2,681 | Cloverdale Township IN | 4,084 | $66K | 10.6% | 4.0% | 8% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | 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 Portage Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door is work for 59% of Portage Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Portage Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portage Township | – | C+ | B+ | 15 min | $66,652 |
| Houghton | 34% | C+ | A | 11 min | $43,456 |
| Adams Township | 3% | C− | C+ | 22 min | $63,914 |
| Chassell Township | 2% | C | C | 20 min | $75,729 |
| Hancock | 15% | C+ | A | 11 min | $59,519 |
| Torch Lake Township | under 2% | C+ | C | 23 min | $69,938 |
| Baraga Township | 5% | D | C | 13 min | $52,254 |
| Laird Township | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Elm River Township | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Franklin Township | under 2% | C | C | 16 min | $78,155 |
Same-state neighbors only. Laird Township and Elm River Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Houghton. Darker towns draw more of Portage 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 Portage Township: questions
What is the median household income in Portage Township?
$66,652 (±$14,101) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Portage Township?
8.6%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Portage Township?
15 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Portage Township work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houghton (34%, 10 mi), Hancock (15%, 12 mi), Baraga Township (5%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Portage Township walkable?
Portage Township is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Portage 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 Portage Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Portage 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.