Work means Escanaba for about two in five of Wells Township’s working residents
4% of workers work from home; Michigan has 14%. Wells Township grades C+ for jobs and income and D for walkability. About one in ten stay in Wells Township for work; outside it, Escanaba is the main destination (40%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Wells Township apart on work
Jobs in Wells Township have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Wells Township went from 364 in 2011 to 1,324 in 2021, +264%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Wells Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Wells Township residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Few Wells Township workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The figures behind Wells Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wells Township is better than 42% of U.S. towns, #466 of 701 in Michigan. Unemployment holds Wells Township’s grade up (3.5%, U.S. 5.2%); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 22% of U.S. towns).
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, Wells Township could be anywhere from D to A−.
What the 1,324 jobs in Wells Township are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wells Township, 2011 → 2021: 364 → 1,324. 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 Wells Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Wells Township: about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wells Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,128 commuters (the 4% 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 Wells Township’s workers travel
About 24% 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.
The daily commute in and out of Wells Township
On a workday 1,481 residents head out to work, 147 work right here, and 1,177 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 (0.81 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 Wells Township: the destinations
Where Wells Township clocks in
40% of workers
8% 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.
Wells Township is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wells Township is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns, #573 of 701 in Michigan. 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 2,223 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). 0.5% of Wells Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Wells Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,400 to 6,500, Wells Township ranks 2,317th of 3,753 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 122 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,315 | Somerset Township IL | 3,940 | $71K | 4.3% | 7.8% | 8% | C+ |
| 2,316 | Jay ME | 4,639 | $70K | 9.8% | 2.8% | 10% | C+ |
| 2,317 | Wells Township MI | 4,821 | $72K | 10.1% | 3.5% | 9% | C+ |
| 2,318 | Green Township OH | 3,795 | $64K | 13.9% | 2.8% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,319 | Waterford Township PA | 3,852 | $77K | 10.8% | 4.4% | 5% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,753 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Wells Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door is work for 47% of Wells Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wells Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Township | – | C+ | D | 15 min | $72,039 |
| Escanaba | 40% | D | A− | 11 min | $45,369 |
| Escanaba Township | 6% | B | C+ | 25 min | $81,250 |
| Ford River Township | under 1% | C | D− | 21 min | $69,878 |
| Bark River Township | 1% | C | C− | 22 min | $69,375 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Escanaba. Darker towns draw more of Wells 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 Wells Township: questions
What is the median household income in Wells Township?
$72,039 (±$18,714) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wells Township?
10.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wells Township?
15 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wells Township work?
9% work in town.
Is Wells Township walkable?
Wells Township is more walkable than 13% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wells 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 Wells Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wells 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.