Households in Spalding Township have lower incomes than those in 68% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Spalding Township is better than 22% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (C). 9.4% of residents are in poverty (Michigan 13.2%). Only 8% work in Spalding Township; the top destination outside it is Escanaba (13%, 23 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Spalding Township apart on work
Spalding Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Spalding Township is Escanaba, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (71) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Spalding Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 36 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 276 hours of commuting, 92 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Spalding Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Spalding Township fell from 963 in 2011 to 679 in 2021, −29%. 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 Spalding Township
The poverty rate holds Spalding Township’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 6% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (5.3%) is left out: Spalding 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, Spalding Township could be anywhere from D to C+.
How many miles Spalding Township commutes
About 20% 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.
About 36 minutes each way, longer than most of Michigan
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Spalding Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 661 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.
Inside Spalding Township’s 679 jobs
679 jobs are based in Spalding Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Spalding Township, 2011 → 2021: 963 → 679. 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 Spalding Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Spalding Township: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 517 residents head out to work, 42 work right here, and 637 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 (1.21 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.
The towns that employ Spalding Township’s residents
Where Spalding Township clocks in
13% of workers
8% 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.
Spalding Township is a driving town
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 4.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 740 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). 8.9% of Spalding Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Spalding Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Spalding Township places 3,936th of 5,794 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 164 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 204 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,934 | Ruch OR | 1,151 | $84K | 15.8% | 0.0% | 4% | C− |
| 3,935 | Hooverson Heights WV | 2,090 | $61K | 13.8% | 8.4% | 2% | C− |
| 3,936 | Spalding Township MI | 1,563 | $63K | 9.4% | 5.3% | 8% | C− |
| 3,937 | Danbury NH | 1,317 | $72K | 12.4% | 5.7% | 7% | C− |
| 3,938 | Royalton Township OH | 1,468 | $63K | 20.7% | 4.2% | 5% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,794 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 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 Spalding Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Work next door: 18% of Spalding Township’s workers
The biggest share goes to Harris Township (12%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Spalding Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spalding Township | – | C− | C | 36 min | $63,333 |
| Harris Township | 12% | D | C | 26 min | $55,104 |
| Meyer Township | 6% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Breen Township | under 4% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Nadeau Township | under 4% | D | C | 33 min | $54,500 |
| Wells Township | under 4% | — | — | 34 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Meyer Township: not graded. Breen Township and Wells Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Spalding 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 Spalding Township: questions
What is the median household income in Spalding Township?
$63,333 (±$15,547) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Spalding Township?
9.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Spalding Township?
36 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Spalding Township work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Escanaba (13%, 23 mi), Harris Township (12%, 8 mi), Iron Mountain (8%, 24 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Spalding Township walkable?
Spalding Township is more walkable than 28% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Spalding Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Spalding Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Spalding 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.