Earning a living in Watertown Township
Only 5% work in Watertown Township; the top destination outside it is Sandusky (34%, 4 miles). Watertown Township grades B− for jobs and income and C− for walkability. For 6% of workers, the job is at home; Michigan has 14%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Watertown Township
A lot of Watertown Township works one town over
39% of working residents work in a town that borders Watertown Township: Sandusky (34%), Custer Township (3%) and Elk Township (2%). Next door ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
50% of the jobs in Watertown Township are in trade, transport and utilities, against 17% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Watertown Township pay better than its residents’ jobs
62% of the jobs based in Watertown Township pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 45% of the jobs Watertown Township residents hold. 95% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Watertown Township. 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; with 476 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How Watertown Township earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Watertown Township is better than 45% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Watertown Township’s grade up (4.7%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 10% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (2.3%) is left out: Watertown 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, Watertown Township could be anywhere from C− to B.
What work there is in Watertown Township: 504 jobs
504 jobs are based in Watertown Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Watertown Township, 2011 → 2021: 614 → 504. 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 Watertown Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Watertown Township on a workday
On a workday 451 residents head out to work, 25 work right here, and 479 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.06 per resident).
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 out of Watertown Township: the destinations
Where Watertown Township clocks in
34% 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.
About 25 minutes each way, about the MI average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Watertown Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 473 commuters (the 6% 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.
The commute from Watertown Township, by distance
About 30% 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.
For most of Watertown Township, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Watertown Township is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.8% across Michigan.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 502 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). 1.9% of Watertown Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Watertown Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Watertown Township ranks: 1,893rd of 4,866 U.S. towns of 900 to 1,700
| # | 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 |
| … | |||||||
| 1,891 | Amnicon WI | 1,213 | $62K | 5.7% | 2.5% | 2% | B− |
| 1,892 | Hastings PA | 1,168 | $71K | 7.4% | 0.0% | 4% | B− |
| 1,893 | Watertown Township MI | 1,241 | $73K | 4.7% | 2.3% | 5% | B− |
| 1,894 | Green Springs OH | 1,316 | $70K | 8.7% | 2.5% | 6% | B− |
| 1,895 | Ellington Township MI | 1,318 | $82K | 6.6% | 2.9% | 3% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Watertown Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door is work for 39% of Watertown Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Watertown Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watertown Township | – | B− | C− | 25 min | $72,750 |
| Sandusky | 34% | C− | A | 24 min | $56,563 |
| Washington Township | under 2% | D | D | 38 min | $66,282 |
| Elmer Township | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Elk Township | 2% | C− | C+ | 26 min | $62,266 |
| Custer Township | 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Elmer Township and Custer Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Sandusky. Darker towns draw more of Watertown 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 Watertown Township: questions
What is the median household income in Watertown Township?
$72,750 (±$16,878) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Watertown Township?
4.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Watertown Township?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Watertown Township work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sandusky (34%, 4 mi), Croswell (3%, 11 mi), Custer Township (3%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Watertown Township walkable?
Watertown Township is more walkable than 19% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Watertown 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 Watertown Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Watertown 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.