Most of Union City commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
280 jobs are based in Union City, against 630 working residents. Jobs and income earn Union City C−; getting around on foot earns it B+. Only 6% stay in Union City for work; outside it, Coldwater is the main destination (13%, 11 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The figures behind Union City’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Union City is better than 20% of U.S. towns. All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Union City’s grade.
Unemployment (7.9%) is left out: Union City’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, Union City could be anywhere from D to C+.
A workday in Union City: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 592 residents head out to work, 38 work right here, and 242 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Union City on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
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 Union City’s working residents head each day
Where Union City clocks in
13% of workers
9% 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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Union City
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Union City, 2011 → 2021: 289 → 280. 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 Union City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How long Union City spends getting to work: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Union City workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 759 commuters (the 7% 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 far Union City’s workers travel
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.
Few in Union City walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Union City is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Union City 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 819 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). 8.7% of Union City households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Union City’s commuters take a bus or train.
4,067th of 5,760: where Union City ranks among U.S. towns of 1,200 to 2,300
| # | 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 |
| … | |||||||
| 4,065 | Eaton IN | 1,586 | $55K | 14.8% | 3.0% | 5% | C− |
| 4,066 | Decatur MI | 1,646 | $62K | 19.7% | 7.3% | 9% | C− |
| 4,067 | Union City MI | 1,726 | $63K | 14.5% | 7.9% | 6% | C− |
| 4,068 | Reeds Spring MO | 1,223 | $56K | 14.1% | 0.0% | 5% | C− |
| 4,069 | Center Township IN | 1,471 | $61K | 11.7% | 0.3% | 1% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Union City, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
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 Union City: questions
What is the median household income in Union City?
$62,788 (±$9,343) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Union City?
14.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Union City?
27 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Union City work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Coldwater (13%, 11 mi), Battle Creek (9%, 17 mi), Union Township (7%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Union City walkable?
Union City is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Union City without a car?
0% 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 Union City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Union City
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.