Photo: PeRshGo · CC BY-SA 4.0At 8.5%, unemployment in Van Buren Township is higher than in 90% of U.S. towns
Van Buren Township grades B− for jobs and income and C− for walkability. The average commute, 24 minutes each way, matches the Michigan norm. Household incomes here are higher than in 54% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Van Buren Township: the gist
Van Buren Township draws workers from far and wide
The 10,071 jobs in Van Buren Township are filled from a wide area. Van Buren Township’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 29%; the other 64% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
45% of the jobs in Van Buren Township are in trade, transport and utilities, against 22% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Van Buren Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Van Buren Township went from 7,481 in 2011 to 10,071 in 2021, +35%. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Van Buren Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Van Buren Township is better than 50% of U.S. towns, #406 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Van Buren Township’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is three years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Van Buren Township could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
11% of working residents work in Ann Arbor
Where Van Buren Township clocks in
11% of workers
6% 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 kinds of work in Van Buren Township
10,071 jobs are based in Van Buren Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Van Buren Township, 2011 → 2021: 7,481 → 10,071. 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 Van Buren Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Van Buren Township quiets down on a workday
On a workday 13,362 residents head out to work, 717 work right here, and 9,354 people come in from elsewhere.
About 26,000 people are in Van Buren Township on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.72 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.
Commuting from Van Buren Township: about 24 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Van Buren Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 13,876 commuters (the 15% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Van Buren Township
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.
For most of Van Buren Township, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Van Buren Township is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns, #454 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Van Buren 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 16,269 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.9% of Van Buren Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Van Buren Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Van Buren Township next to U.S. towns of 21,000 to 40,000: 936th of 1,366 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Northville Township MI | 31,399 | $151K | 3.1% | 2.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 121 | Lyon Township MI | 26,867 | $146K | 4.8% | 3.1% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 138 | Independence Township MI | 37,725 | $115K | 4.3% | 2.9% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 934 | Troy OH | 27,344 | $69K | 12.6% | 4.2% | 24% | B− |
| 935 | Osolo Township IN | 29,084 | $61K | 12.8% | 3.5% | 16% | B− |
| 936 | Van Buren Township MI | 29,770 | $78K | 10.7% | 8.5% | 5% | B− |
| 937 | Galloway Township NJ | 38,380 | $91K | 9.6% | 7.2% | 13% | B− |
| 938 | Raytown MO | 29,154 | $69K | 12.5% | 5.6% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,366 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 16% | 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 Van Buren Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Van Buren Township and its neighbors: 11% work next door
The biggest share goes to Romulus (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Van Buren Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Van Buren Township | – | B− | C− | 24 min | $78,230 |
| Canton Township | 3% | A | C+ | 27 min | $121,359 |
| Ypsilanti Township | 3% | C+ | A | 25 min | $69,716 |
| Romulus | 5% | B− | C | 25 min | $69,151 |
| Sumpter Township | under 3% | B− | D | 29 min | $76,081 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Van Buren 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 Van Buren Township: questions
What is the median household income in Van Buren Township?
$78,230 (±$5,245) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Van Buren Township?
10.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Van Buren Township?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Van Buren Township work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ann Arbor (11%, 13 mi), Detroit (8%, 22 mi), Dearborn (6%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Van Buren Township walkable?
Van Buren Township is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Van Buren Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Van Buren Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Van Buren 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.