More people are out of work in Wayne Township (13.2%) than in 98% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, Wayne Township is behind 72% of U.S. towns. Wayne Township grades D for jobs and income and C for walkability. Only 5% work in Wayne Township; the top destination outside it is Dowagiac (12%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Wayne Township, in a few figures
Wayne Township makes and builds things
64% of the jobs based in Wayne Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Wayne Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 32%. The jobs ↓
Wayne Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Wayne Township went from 358 in 2011 to 610 in 2021, +70%. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Wayne Township
48% of Wayne Township residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 27% of the jobs based in Wayne Township pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. 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 883 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Wayne Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wayne Township is better than 8% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Wayne Township’s grade up (ahead of 30% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
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, poverty and unemployment, Wayne Township could be anywhere from D− to B−.
Wayne Township makes things: 64% of its jobs are in goods
610 jobs are based in Wayne Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wayne Township, 2011 → 2021: 358 → 610. 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 Wayne Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Wayne Township quiets down on a workday
On a workday 840 residents head out to work, 43 work right here, and 567 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Wayne Township on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
0.69 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.
Where the trip to work from Wayne Township ends
Where Wayne Township clocks in
12% 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.
About 25 minutes each way, about the MI average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wayne Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 876 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 many miles Wayne Township commutes
About 22% 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.
In Wayne Township, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wayne Township is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 3.9.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 944 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). 0.0% of Wayne Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Wayne Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Wayne Township is 4,616th among 5,207 U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,300
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 96 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 138 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,614 | Ritzville WA | 1,709 | $56K | 14.0% | 2.8% | 32% | D |
| 4,615 | St. Albans ME | 2,176 | $66K | 23.2% | 2.0% | 2% | D |
| 4,616 | Wayne Township MI | 2,463 | $61K | 21.2% | 13.2% | 5% | D |
| 4,617 | Moira NY | 2,871 | $64K | 20.1% | 6.9% | 8% | D |
| 4,618 | Louisville GA | 2,237 | $50K | 15.3% | 3.5% | 17% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,207 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Wayne Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
17% of Wayne Township works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wayne Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Township | – | D | C | 25 min | $61,210 |
| Dowagiac | 12% | D | A− | 23 min | $48,166 |
| Hamilton Township | under 2% | C− | C | 21 min | $64,792 |
| Volinia Township | under 2% | C+ | D− | 31 min | $78,750 |
| LaGrange Township | 5% | C | B+ | 23 min | $58,786 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Dowagiac. Darker towns draw more of Wayne 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 Wayne Township: questions
What is the median household income in Wayne Township?
$61,210 (±$13,466) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wayne Township?
21.2%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wayne Township?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wayne Township work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Dowagiac (12%, 4 mi), Elkhart (6%, 24 mi), LaGrange Township (5%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Wayne Township walkable?
Wayne Township is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 3.9 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wayne Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 0% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wayne Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wayne 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.