Fewer people are out of work in Potterville (3.0%) than in 70% of U.S. towns
Only 4% work in Potterville; the top destination outside it is Lansing (23%, 11 miles). Potterville grades B for jobs and income and C for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 7% of workers, next to 14% for Michigan as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Potterville and work: the main findings
Stores, warehouses and trucking
55% of the jobs in Potterville are in trade, transport and utilities, against 19% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Potterville pay better than its residents’ jobs
76% of the jobs based in Potterville pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 55% of the jobs Potterville residents hold. 94% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Potterville. 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.
Inside Potterville’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Potterville is better than 56% of U.S. towns, #347 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Potterville’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($64,693, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on unemployment.
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, Potterville could be anywhere from C to A−.
76% of the jobs in Potterville pay over $3,333 a month
813 jobs are based in Potterville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Potterville, 2011 → 2021: 756 → 813. 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 Potterville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Potterville, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,202 residents head out to work, 45 work right here, and 768 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Potterville on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.65 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Where Potterville’s working residents head each day
Where Potterville clocks in
23% 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.
A commute of about 20 minutes in Potterville
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Potterville workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,389 commuters (the 7% 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.
Miles to work from Potterville
About 17% 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.
Getting around Potterville: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Potterville is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns, #386 of 701 in Michigan. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.8% across Michigan.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,500 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.3% of Potterville households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Potterville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Potterville is 1,918th of 4,562 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,200 on jobs and income
| # | 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% | 2% | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 136 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 226 | Heath Township MI | 4,017 | $105K | 1.3% | 0.9% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,916 | Pea Ridge FL | 3,560 | $60K | 8.1% | 2.1% | 1% | B |
| 1,917 | Ferdinand IN | 2,247 | $70K | 11.0% | 0.5% | 23% | B |
| 1,918 | Potterville MI | 3,135 | $65K | 11.4% | 3.0% | 4% | B |
| 1,919 | Peshtigo WI | 3,423 | $67K | 9.4% | 0.9% | 14% | B |
| 1,920 | Grand River Township MO | 3,258 | $78K | 8.8% | 2.4% | 13% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,562 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Potterville, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
How Potterville compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Potterville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potterville | – | B | C | 20 min | $64,693 |
| Benton Township | under 2% | B+ | C | 24 min | $97,222 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Potterville’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 Potterville: questions
What is the median household income in Potterville?
$64,693 (±$15,757) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Potterville?
11.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Potterville?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Potterville work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lansing (23%, 11 mi), Delta Township (9%, 8 mi), Charlotte (9%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Potterville walkable?
Potterville is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Potterville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Potterville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Potterville
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.