Work and commuting in Rapid River Township
Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, next to 14% for Michigan as a whole. Rapid River Township grades C+ for jobs and income and D for walkability. Only 3% stay in Rapid River Township for work; outside it, Kalkaska Township is the main destination (28%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Rapid River Township in brief
Rapid River Township makes and builds things
76% of the jobs based in Rapid River Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Rapid River Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 25%. The jobs ↓
Rapid River Township and Kalkaska Township trade workers both ways
Kalkaska Township is the top workplace for Rapid River Township residents (28%) and also where the most people who work in Rapid River Township come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
The jobs in Rapid River Township pay better than its residents’ jobs
61% of the jobs based in Rapid River Township pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 45% of the jobs Rapid River Township residents hold. 95% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Rapid River Township. 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 503 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Where Rapid River Township’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty and job access, Rapid River Township is better than 43% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Rapid River Township’s grade up (4.9%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 8% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (1.3%) is left out: Rapid River 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 fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Rapid River Township could be anywhere from C to B−.
A place that makes things: 76% of Rapid River Township’s jobs are in goods
304 jobs are based in Rapid River Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Rapid River Township, 2011 → 2021: 173 → 304. 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 Rapid River Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Rapid River Township’s working residents head each day
Where Rapid River Township clocks in
14% of workers
6% 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.
How a workday changes Rapid River Township
On a workday 487 residents head out to work, 16 work right here, and 288 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in Rapid River Township on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.60 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.
About 29 minutes each way for Rapid River Township’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Rapid River Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 668 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.
How far Rapid River Township’s workers travel
About 19% 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 Rapid River Township: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Rapid River Township is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 3.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 694 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). 2.4% of Rapid River Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Rapid River Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 900 to 1,800, Rapid River Township ranks 2,262nd of 5,400 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 139 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 168 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,260 | Blue Ridge TX | 1,265 | $77K | 20.6% | 2.8% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,261 | Convis Township MI | 1,534 | $71K | 12.0% | 0.9% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,262 | Rapid River Township MI | 1,301 | $72K | 4.9% | 1.3% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,263 | Fairfield NY | 1,436 | $90K | 11.6% | 6.5% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,264 | Hebron Estates KY | 1,056 | $55K | 13.2% | 18.8% | <1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 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 Rapid River Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Rapid River Township and its neighbors: 30% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Rapid River Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid River Township | – | C+ | D | 29 min | $72,273 |
| Coldsprings Township | under 2% | D | D− | 35 min | $61,198 |
| Custer Township | under 2% | C | C− | 26 min | $83,750 |
| Clearwater Township | 2% | C+ | C− | 32 min | $74,663 |
| Kalkaska Township | 28% | C+ | B | 24 min | $64,253 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Kalkaska Township. Darker towns draw more of Rapid 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 Rapid River Township: questions
What is the median household income in Rapid River Township?
$72,273 (±$7,099) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Rapid River Township?
4.9%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Rapid River Township?
29 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Rapid River Township work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kalkaska Township (28%, 6 mi), Traverse City (14%, 22 mi), Garfield Township (6%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Rapid River Township walkable?
Rapid River Township is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 3.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Rapid River Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Rapid River Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Rapid 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.