Harbor Beach Lighthouse · Photo: Aaron Linville · CC BY-SA 4.0With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Sand Beach Township works elsewhere
Only 5% stay in Sand Beach Township for work; outside it, Harbor Beach is the main destination (25%, 2 miles). 133 jobs are based in Sand Beach Township, against 426 working residents. Sand Beach Township grades D for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Sand Beach Township: the gist
Sand Beach Township and Harbor Beach trade workers both ways
Harbor Beach is the top workplace for Sand Beach Township residents (25%) and also where the most people who work in Sand Beach Township come from (23% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% 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 ↓
Commutes from Sand Beach Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. 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 426 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Sand Beach Township
On income, poverty and job access, Sand Beach Township is better than 13% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Sand Beach Township’s grade up (11.7%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 3% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (9.2%) is left out: Sand Beach 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, Sand Beach Township could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Commuting out of Sand Beach Township: the destinations
Where Sand Beach Township clocks in
25% 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.
Half of Sand Beach Township commutes less than 17 miles
About 33% 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.
Sand Beach Township’s commute takes about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sand Beach Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 437 commuters (the 9% 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.
Who works in Sand Beach Township, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 405 residents head out to work, 21 work right here, and 112 people come in from elsewhere.
About 830 people are in Sand Beach Township on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
Sand Beach Township works in goods: 59% of its jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sand Beach Township, 2011 → 2021: 208 → 133. 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 Sand Beach Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In Sand Beach Township, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Sand Beach Township is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 4.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 480 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). 3.0% of Sand Beach Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Sand Beach Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,771 U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500, Sand Beach Township comes 2,890th 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 95 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 225 | Petersburg MI | 1,152 | $83K | 1.8% | 1.7% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 275 | Freedom Township MI | 1,298 | $113K | 6.7% | 2.5% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,888 | Yates Center KS | 1,308 | $43K | 8.8% | 2.6% | 21% | D |
| 2,889 | Cornell WI | 1,443 | $55K | 13.4% | 0.4% | 14% | D |
| 2,890 | Sand Beach Township MI | 1,119 | $60K | 11.7% | 9.2% | 5% | D |
| 2,891 | Union Township OH | 1,340 | $46K | 15.2% | 9.1% | 1% | D |
| 2,892 | Ward Township OH | 1,175 | $47K | 11.6% | 3.8% | 2% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | 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 Sand Beach Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door to Sand Beach Township
The biggest share goes to Sherman Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sand Beach Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sand Beach Township | – | D | C | 19 min | $59,833 |
| Rubicon Township | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Sherman Township | 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Sigel Township | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Rubicon Township, Sherman Township and Sigel Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Sand Beach 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 Sand Beach Township: questions
What is the median household income in Sand Beach Township?
$59,833 (±$19,042) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sand Beach Township?
11.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sand Beach Township?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sand Beach Township work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Harbor Beach (25%, 2 mi), Bad Axe (11%, 16 mi), Colfax Township (5%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Sand Beach Township walkable?
Sand Beach Township is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sand Beach Township without a car?
2% 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 Sand Beach Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sand Beach 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.