Wakeshma Township has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.1 for each
Wakeshma Township has 40 jobs, and 498 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for Wakeshma Township are B for jobs and income and C− for walkability. Only 1% work in Wakeshma Township itself; outside it, Portage draws the most (12%, 14 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Wakeshma Township at work: what stands out
Wakeshma Township is a place people come home to
There are 40 jobs based in Wakeshma Township, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Wakeshma Township has about 870 people in it, 34% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Wakeshma Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Wakeshma Township fell from 381 in 2011 to 40 in 2021, −90%. 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 ↓
Wakeshma 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 498 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Income, poverty and work: Wakeshma Township’s grade explained
On income, poverty and job access, Wakeshma Township is better than 57% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Wakeshma Township’s grade up (6.9%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 43% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income.
Unemployment (12.0%) is left out: Wakeshma 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 rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Wakeshma Township could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
The daily flow of workers through Wakeshma Township
On a workday 493 residents head out to work, 5 work right here, and 35 people come in from elsewhere.
About 870 people are in Wakeshma Township on a workday afternoon, 34% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 38% of the jobs in Wakeshma Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wakeshma Township, 2011 → 2021: 381 → 40. 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 Wakeshma Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Wakeshma Township takes about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wakeshma Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 529 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.
Where Wakeshma Township goes to work
Where Wakeshma Township clocks in
11% of workers
11% 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.
How far it is to work from Wakeshma Township
About 25% 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.
Getting around Wakeshma Township: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wakeshma Township is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 2.6.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 576 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). 1.5% of Wakeshma Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Wakeshma Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,497th of 5,400: where Wakeshma Township ranks among U.S. towns of 900 to 1,800
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 139 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 168 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,495 | Hart Township IN | 1,636 | $63K | 4.4% | 4.9% | 2% | B |
| 1,496 | Iowa Township KS | 1,463 | $98K | 6.1% | 2.4% | 13% | B |
| 1,497 | Wakeshma Township MI | 1,331 | $78K | 6.9% | 12.0% | 1% | B |
| 1,498 | Genoa NV | 1,284 | $122K | 7.4% | 4.1% | 4% | B |
| 1,499 | Suffield OH | 1,126 | $62K | 8.4% | 0.0% | 1% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Wakeshma Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
How Wakeshma Township compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Climax Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wakeshma Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakeshma Township | – | B | C− | 29 min | $77,917 |
| Brady Township | under 2% | A− | C− | 26 min | $108,954 |
| Athens Township | under 2% | B | C− | 27 min | $62,841 |
| Leonidas Township | under 2% | C− | C− | 27 min | $70,673 |
| Climax Township | 3% | B | C− | 27 min | $75,625 |
| Mendon Township | under 2% | B− | C− | 27 min | $75,962 |
| Sherwood Township | under 2% | C | D− | 35 min | $64,531 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wakeshma 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 Wakeshma Township: questions
What is the median household income in Wakeshma Township?
$77,917 (±$14,836) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wakeshma Township?
6.9%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wakeshma Township?
29 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wakeshma Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portage (12%, 14 mi), Kalamazoo (11%, 16 mi), Battle Creek (11%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Wakeshma Township walkable?
Wakeshma Township is more walkable than 18% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 2.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wakeshma 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 Wakeshma Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wakeshma 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.