Photo: Hgjudd · CC BY-SA 3.0Torch Lake Township has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income C: better than 27% of U.S. towns on income, poverty and job access.
Walkability C−: more walkable than 15% of U.S. towns.
Household incomes here are higher than in 67% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 29 minutes each way (Michigan 24, U.S. 26). Only 2% work in Torch Lake Township; the top destination outside it is Traverse City (12%, 24 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Torch Lake Township, in brief
Torch Lake Township’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Torch Lake Township is Traverse City, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 12% of working residents (46) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Torch Lake Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical 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; with 400 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Torch Lake Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Torch Lake Township is better than 27% of U.S. towns. Household income holds Torch Lake Township’s grade up ($89,485, U.S. $80,734); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 6% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (0.3%) is left out: Torch Lake 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, Torch Lake Township could be anywhere from C− to C+.
Half of Torch Lake Township commutes less than 21 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
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.
About 29 minutes each way, longer than most of Michigan
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Torch Lake Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 458 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Torch Lake Township quiets down on a workday
On a workday 390 residents head out to work, 10 work right here, and 121 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,000 people are in Torch Lake Township on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
0.33 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.
12% of working residents work in Traverse City
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Torch Lake Township clocks in
12% of workers
8% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
131 jobs are based in Torch Lake Township. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Torch Lake Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Torch Lake Township, 2011 → 2021: 139 → 131. 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.
Most trips from Torch Lake Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Torch Lake Township is more walkable than 15% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 1.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 3.7.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 556 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). 3.4% of Torch Lake Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Torch Lake Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Torch Lake Township is 2,946th of 4,866 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Torch Lake Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 124 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 151 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 175 | Sylvan Lake MI | 1,685 | $106K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,944 | Baldwin FL | 1,394 | $48K | 16.3% | 8.9% | 1% | C |
| 2,945 | Stevenson WA | 1,596 | $77K | 11.9% | 5.0% | 22% | C |
| 2,946 | Torch Lake Township MI | 1,270 | $89K | 14.9% | 0.3% | 2% | C |
| 2,947 | Akron Township MI | 1,350 | $69K | 10.1% | 2.4% | 4% | C |
| 2,948 | Wheeling Township OH | 1,541 | $54K | 8.1% | 5.6% | 2% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,866 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 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.
15% of Torch Lake Township works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Banks Township (9%). Darker towns draw more of Torch Lake Township’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Torch Lake Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torch Lake Township | – | C | C− | 29 min | $89,485 |
| Forest Home Township | under 3% | C | B+ | 22 min | $81,111 |
| Central Lake Township | 3% | C | B− | 27 min | $69,891 |
| Milton Township | 3% | B− | C | 26 min | $88,971 |
| Banks Township | 9% | C+ | B− | 25 min | $71,326 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Torch Lake Township: questions
What is the median household income in Torch Lake Township?
$89,485 (±$10,214) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Torch Lake Township?
14.9%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Torch Lake Township?
29 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Torch Lake Township work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Traverse City (12%, 24 mi), Banks Township (9%, 9 mi), Charlevoix (8%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Torch Lake Township walkable?
Torch Lake Township is more walkable than 15% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 3.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Torch Lake Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Torch Lake Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Torch Lake 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.