PEWABIC (propeller) Shipwreck Site · Photo: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration · Public domainMore people are out of work in Sanborn Township (12.5%) than in 98% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are lower than in 71% of U.S. towns. Sanborn Township grades D for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Hardly any stay in Sanborn Township for work; outside it, Alpena is the main destination (36%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Sanborn Township and work: the main findings
Sanborn Township and Alpena trade workers both ways
Alpena is the top workplace for Sanborn Township residents (36%) and also where the most people who work in Sanborn Township come from (17% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Sanborn Township is a place people come home to
There are 156 jobs based in Sanborn Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Sanborn Township has about 1,500 people in it, 29% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
A big share show a job far from home
31% 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 ↓
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 759 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Sanborn Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Sanborn Township is better than 10% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Sanborn Township’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down.
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, Sanborn Township could be anywhere from D− to B.
Commuting out of Sanborn Township: the destinations
Where Sanborn Township clocks in
36% of workers
21% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Sanborn Township
On a workday 752 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 149 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Sanborn Township on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
0.21 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.
Miles to work from Sanborn Township
About 31% 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.
A place that makes things: 48% of Sanborn Township’s jobs are in goods
156 jobs are based in Sanborn Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sanborn Township, 2011 → 2021: 116 → 156. 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 Sanborn Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Sanborn Township: about 31 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sanborn Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 800 commuters (the 11% 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.
The commute in Sanborn Township is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sanborn Township is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 7.0% 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 899 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). 5.4% of Sanborn Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Sanborn Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Sanborn Township is 4,421st of 5,148 U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,800 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 | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 89 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 124 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 201 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,419 | Perryman MD | 2,174 | $35K | 35.1% | 12.8% | 2% | D |
| 4,420 | Coats NC | 2,370 | $37K | 21.6% | 3.8% | 3% | D |
| 4,421 | Sanborn Township MI | 2,099 | $62K | 11.7% | 12.5% | 1% | D |
| 4,422 | Schoolcraft Township MI | 2,008 | $55K | 10.3% | 10.9% | 4% | D |
| 4,423 | Butler NY | 1,801 | $50K | 13.6% | 9.9% | 6% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,148 | 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 Sanborn Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
22% of Sanborn Township works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Alpena Township (21%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sanborn Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanborn Township | – | D | C+ | 31 min | $61,827 |
| Alpena Township | 21% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Ossineke Township | 1% | C− | C− | 30 min | $67,885 |
| Caledonia Township | under 1% | C− | D | 41 min | $71,513 |
| Alcona Township | under 1% | — | — | 47 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Alpena Township and Alcona Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sanborn 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 Sanborn Township: questions
What is the median household income in Sanborn Township?
$61,827 (±$22,049) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sanborn Township?
11.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sanborn Township?
31 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sanborn Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Alpena (36%, 12 mi), Alpena Township (21%, 14 mi), Hillman Township (2%, 31 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Sanborn Township walkable?
Sanborn Township is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 3.9 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sanborn Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sanborn Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sanborn 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.