Photo: ShadZ01 · CC BY-SA 4.0At 6.8%, unemployment in St. Joseph Township is higher than in 81% of U.S. towns
The two grades for St. Joseph Township are B− for jobs and income and B for walkability. Only 7% work in St. Joseph Township; the top destination outside it is Benton Township (17%, 5 miles). Measured by household income, St. Joseph Township is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in St. Joseph Township
The better-paid jobs are outside St. Joseph Township
60% of St. Joseph Township residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 32% of the jobs based in St. Joseph Township pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
A lot of St. Joseph Township works one town over
26% of working residents work in a town that borders St. Joseph Township: St. Joseph (15%), Lincoln Township (5%) and Benton Harbor (4%). Next door ↓
Many jobs in St. Joseph Township pay little
30% of the jobs based in St. Joseph Township pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 31% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Commutes from St. Joseph 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.
St. Joseph Township’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, St. Joseph Township is better than 54% of U.S. towns, #372 of 701 in Michigan. Household income holds St. Joseph Township’s grade up ($94,926, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
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, St. Joseph Township could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Inside St. Joseph Township’s 3,461 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in St. Joseph Township, 2011 → 2021: 4,384 → 3,461. 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 St. Joseph Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 19 minutes each way, quicker than most of Michigan
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of St. Joseph Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,860 commuters (the 14% 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 workday shuffle in and out of St. Joseph Township
On a workday 3,812 residents head out to work, 300 work right here, and 3,161 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 (0.84 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.
Where St. Joseph Township goes to work
Where St. Joseph Township clocks in
15% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from St. Joseph Township
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.
In St. Joseph Township, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, St. Joseph Township is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns, #181 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place St. Joseph Township near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,496 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). 4.2% of St. Joseph Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of St. Joseph Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
St. Joseph Township next to U.S. towns of 6,800 to 13,100: 1,549th of 2,780 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Jamestown Township MI | 10,702 | $120K | 2.8% | 1.1% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,547 | Fox Lake IL | 10,849 | $71K | 13.1% | 4.2% | 6% | B− |
| 1,548 | Waverly IA | 10,561 | $80K | 10.9% | 3.5% | 32% | B− |
| 1,549 | St. Joseph Township MI | 9,703 | $95K | 8.6% | 6.8% | 7% | B− |
| 1,550 | Meredith NH | 6,854 | $87K | 7.7% | 3.7% | 23% | B− |
| 1,551 | Wellington CO | 12,169 | $107K | 8.8% | 6.5% | 6% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,780 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 St. Joseph Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Bordering towns draw 26% of St. Joseph Township’s workers
The biggest share goes to St. Joseph (15%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | St. Joseph Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph Township | – | B− | B | 19 min | $94,926 |
| St. Joseph | 15% | A− | A | 20 min | $84,057 |
| Shoreham | under 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
| Fair Plain | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Benton Harbor | 4% | D | A− | 18 min | $31,117 |
| Royalton Township | 2% | A | C− | 17 min | $128,750 |
| Lincoln Township | 5% | B | C− | 19 min | $98,228 |
Same-state neighbors only. Shoreham: not graded. Fair Plain: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of St. Joseph 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 St. Joseph Township: questions
What is the median household income in St. Joseph Township?
$94,926 (±$9,514) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in St. Joseph Township?
8.6%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from St. Joseph Township?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in St. Joseph Township work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Benton Township (17%, 5 mi), St. Joseph (15%, 2 mi), Lincoln Township (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is St. Joseph Township walkable?
St. Joseph Township is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around St. Joseph Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from St. Joseph Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of St. Joseph 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.