Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Scottville trail those of 85% of U.S. towns
27.5% of residents are in poverty, against 13.2% across Michigan. For jobs and income Scottville is better than 3% of U.S. towns (D−); for walkability it is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (A−). Only 5% work in Scottville; the top destination outside it is Ludington (17%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Scottville, in brief
Scottville and Ludington trade workers both ways
Ludington is the top workplace for Scottville residents (17%) and also where the most people who work in Scottville come from (12% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
A big share show a job far from home
38% 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 ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Scottville than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Scottville fell from 784 in 2011 to 451 in 2021, −42%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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 559 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Scottville
All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Scottville’s grade.
Unemployment (4.5%) is left out: Scottville’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 three years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Scottville could be anywhere from D− to D.
The places Scottville commutes to
Where Scottville clocks in
Lines 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 far Scottville’s workers travel
About 38% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 33% of the jobs in Scottville
451 jobs are based in Scottville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Scottville, 2011 → 2021: 784 → 451. 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 Scottville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 533 residents head out to work, 26 work right here, and 425 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 (0.81 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.
Each way, about 20 minutes from Scottville
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Scottville workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 568 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.
Scottville is easy on foot, hard by bus
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 12.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 6.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 613 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). 15.0% of Scottville households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Scottville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Scottville next to U.S. towns of 900 to 1,800
| # | 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% | 2% | 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 |
| … | |||||||
| 5,033 | Lee Township OH | 1,023 | $54K | 29.7% | 5.2% | 1% | D− |
| 5,034 | Mesa Verde CA | 1,016 | $51K | 19.1% | 5.6% | 2% | D− |
| 5,035 | Scottville MI | 1,348 | $52K | 27.5% | 4.5% | 5% | D− |
| 5,036 | Campbell MO | 1,489 | $50K | 30.7% | 8.4% | 13% | D− |
| 5,037 | Hatch NM | 1,584 | $43K | 19.0% | 9.9% | 19% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 1% | 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 Scottville, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Work next door: 10% of Scottville’s workers
The biggest share goes to Amber Township (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Scottville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottville | – | D− | A− | 20 min | $51,953 |
| Riverton Township | 2% | D | D | 22 min | $63,250 |
| Amber Township | 8% | C+ | B− | 17 min | $70,515 |
| Custer Township | under 2% | C | C− | 21 min | $56,172 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Scottville’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 Scottville: questions
What is the median household income in Scottville?
$51,953 (±$11,469) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Scottville?
27.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Scottville?
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 Scottville work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ludington (17%, 8 mi), Pere Marquette Township (11%, 7 mi), Amber Township (8%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Scottville walkable?
Scottville is more walkable than 75% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Scottville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Scottville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Scottville
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.