John Carveth House · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0At 1.9%, unemployment in Thornapple Township is lower than in 86% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Thornapple Township for work; outside it, Grand Rapids is the main destination (16%, 19 miles). The two grades for Thornapple Township are A for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. A typical one-way commute lasts 26 minutes, next to 24 for Michigan and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Thornapple Township in brief
Inside Thornapple Township’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment is its strongest input; household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($90,772, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and 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 fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Thornapple Township could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Thornapple Township makes things: 65% of its jobs are in goods
3,044 jobs are based in Thornapple Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Thornapple Township, 2011 → 2021: 2,428 → 3,044. 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 Thornapple Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Thornapple Township
On a workday 3,997 residents head out to work, 537 work right here, and 2,507 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,200 people are in Thornapple Township on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.67 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 Thornapple Township work
Where Thornapple Township clocks in
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.
The daily trip from Thornapple Township: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Thornapple Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,494 commuters (the 10% 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 many miles Thornapple Township commutes
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.
Most trips from Thornapple Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Thornapple Township is more walkable than 35% of U.S. towns, #372 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Thornapple 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 4,969 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). 2.1% of Thornapple Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Thornapple Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Thornapple Township is 585th of 2,780 U.S. towns of 6,800 to 13,100
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 583 | Mayo MD | 8,694 | $155K | 4.6% | 4.0% | 5% | A |
| 584 | Kinnelon NJ | 10,138 | $187K | 2.0% | 8.1% | 4% | A |
| 585 | Thornapple Township MI | 9,692 | $91K | 5.6% | 1.9% | 12% | A |
| 586 | Alum Rock CA | 10,440 | $127K | 6.2% | 4.5% | 1% | A |
| 587 | Savage MD | 8,239 | $117K | 5.6% | 4.8% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Thornapple Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
The towns around Thornapple Township
The biggest share goes to Caledonia Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Thornapple Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornapple Township | – | A | C+ | 26 min | $90,772 |
| Irving Township | under 2% | B+ | D | 27 min | $76,367 |
| Yankee Springs Township | under 2% | B+ | C− | 29 min | $84,786 |
| Caledonia Township | 5% | A | C | 23 min | $111,365 |
| Leighton Township | under 2% | A+ | C− | 25 min | $103,888 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Thornapple 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 Thornapple Township: questions
What is the median household income in Thornapple Township?
$90,772 (±$17,621) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Thornapple Township?
5.6%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Thornapple Township?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Thornapple Township work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (16%, 19 mi), Kentwood (8%, 12 mi), Wyoming (6%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Thornapple Township walkable?
Thornapple Township is more walkable than 35% 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 Thornapple 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 Thornapple Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Thornapple 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.