Households in Tawas Township have lower incomes than those in 75% of U.S. towns
Tawas Township grades D for jobs and income and C for walkability. The poverty rate is 12.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan. About one in ten work in Tawas Township; the top destination outside it is Tawas City (18%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Tawas Township
A lot of Tawas Township works one town over
28% of working residents work in a town that borders Tawas Township: Tawas City (18%), Baldwin Township (5%) and Grant Township (3%). Next door ↓
A big share show a job far from home
40% 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 Tawas Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Tawas Township fell from 554 in 2011 to 399 in 2021, −28%. 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 579 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Tawas Township
On income, poverty and job access, Tawas Township is better than 13% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Tawas Township’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 5% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (3.4%) is left out: Tawas 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, Tawas Township could be anywhere from D to C.
Where in the region Tawas Township works
About 40% 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.
The 399 jobs based in Tawas Township
399 jobs are based in Tawas Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Tawas Township, 2011 → 2021: 554 → 399. 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 Tawas Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Tawas Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 521 residents head out to work, 58 work right here, and 341 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Tawas Township on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
0.69 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
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 people from Tawas Township work
Where Tawas Township clocks in
18% 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.
About 25 minutes each way, about the MI average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Tawas Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 508 commuters (the 8% 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.
Few in Tawas Township walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Tawas Township is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Tawas 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 552 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). 2.4% of Tawas Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Tawas Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,300, Tawas Township ranks 4,607th of 5,760 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Hewlett Harbor NY | 1,332 | $250K | 1.9% | 7.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 206 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 249 | Sylvan Lake MI | 1,685 | $106K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,605 | Graysville TN | 1,506 | $40K | 23.7% | 14.1% | <1% | D |
| 4,606 | Washington ME | 1,562 | $60K | 15.3% | 1.3% | 2% | D |
| 4,607 | Tawas Township MI | 1,737 | $60K | 12.5% | 3.4% | 10% | D |
| 4,608 | Moreland ID | 1,326 | $61K | 19.7% | 0.0% | 1% | D |
| 4,609 | Ossun LA | 2,271 | $41K | 24.6% | 9.6% | 1% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,760 | 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 Tawas Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
28% of Tawas Township works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Tawas Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tawas Township | – | D | C | 25 min | $59,531 |
| Tawas City | 18% | D | B+ | 14 min | $46,014 |
| Baldwin Township | 5% | C− | B | 15 min | $69,792 |
| Alabaster Township | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Grant Township | 3% | D | C− | 29 min | $56,193 |
| Wilber Township | under 2% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Sand Lake | under 2% | — | — | 37 min | — |
| Sherman Township | 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Alabaster Township, Wilber Township and Sherman Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Sand Lake: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Tawas City. Darker towns draw more of Tawas 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 Tawas Township: questions
What is the median household income in Tawas Township?
$59,531 (±$7,319) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Tawas Township?
12.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Tawas Township?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Tawas Township work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tawas City (18%, 4 mi), East Tawas (6%, 5 mi), Baldwin Township (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Tawas Township walkable?
Tawas Township is more walkable than 31% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Tawas Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Tawas Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Tawas 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.