John J. and Eva Reynier Porter Estate · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in South Arm Township are higher than in 61% of U.S. towns
7.9% of residents are in poverty; Michigan has 13.2%. Jobs and income earn South Arm Township C+; getting around on foot earns it C. Only 4% work in South Arm Township itself; outside it, East Jordan draws the most (21%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in South Arm Township: the figures worth knowing
South Arm Township makes and builds things
78% of the jobs based in South Arm Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs South Arm Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 32%. The jobs ↓
The jobs in South Arm Township pay better than its residents’ jobs
78% of the jobs based in South Arm Township pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 51% of the jobs South Arm Township residents hold. 96% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside South Arm 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 717 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
South Arm Township’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty and job access, South Arm Township is better than 43% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds South Arm Township’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 12% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (3.1%) is left out: South Arm 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 three years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, South Arm Township could be anywhere from C to B.
A place that makes things: 78% of South Arm Township’s jobs are in goods
715 jobs are based in South Arm Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Arm Township, 2011 → 2021: 60 → 715. 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 South Arm Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of South Arm Township on a workday
On a workday 686 residents head out to work, 31 work right here, and 684 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 (1.00 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.
Out of South Arm Township to work: where people go
Where South Arm Township clocks in
6% 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.
A commute of about 24 minutes in South Arm Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of South Arm Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 786 commuters (the 13% 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 South Arm Township’s workers travel
About 23% 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.
Driving is how South Arm Township gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, South Arm Township is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 4.4.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 905 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). 7.8% of South Arm Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of South Arm Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
South Arm Township is 2,481st of 5,234 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,600 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% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 95 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 131 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 196 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,479 | Castle Rock WA | 2,442 | $70K | 7.0% | 7.6% | 7% | C+ |
| 2,480 | Convis Township MI | 1,534 | $71K | 12.0% | 0.9% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,481 | South Arm Township MI | 1,932 | $84K | 7.9% | 3.1% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,482 | Fairfield NY | 1,436 | $90K | 11.6% | 6.5% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,483 | Scioto Township OH | 1,962 | $73K | 5.5% | 5.1% | 1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,234 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 South Arm Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
South Arm Township and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | South Arm Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Arm Township | – | C+ | C | 24 min | $84,107 |
| Wilson Township | under 2% | B− | D− | 22 min | $94,844 |
| Eveline Township | under 2% | B− | C | 23 min | $101,964 |
| Banks Township | under 2% | C+ | B− | 25 min | $71,326 |
| Echo Township | under 2% | C | C+ | 27 min | $70,833 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of South Arm 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 South Arm Township: questions
What is the median household income in South Arm Township?
$84,107 (±$4,836) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Arm Township?
7.9%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Arm Township?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in South Arm Township work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are East Jordan (21%, 2 mi), Charlevoix (6%, 11 mi), Petoskey (6%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is South Arm Township walkable?
South Arm Township is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around South Arm Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from South Arm Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Arm 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.