With 0.3 jobs for every working resident, most of Detroit works elsewhere
133 jobs are based in Detroit, and 418 of its residents work somewhere. Hardly any work in Detroit; the top destination outside it is Bangor (11%, 25 miles). Working residents average 24 minutes each way, about the same as across Maine.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Detroit stands out on work
Short hops and long hauls from Detroit
About 28% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The workday shuffle in and out of Detroit
On a workday 417 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 132 people come in from elsewhere.
About 640 people are in Detroit on a workday afternoon, 31% 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 2024, primary jobs.
Commuting out of Detroit: the destinations
Where Detroit clocks in
11% of workers
10% of workers
7% 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.
47% of the jobs in Detroit make or build things
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Detroit, 2014 → 2024: 169 → 133. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Detroit’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 24 minutes each way, about the ME average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Detroit workers work from home, vs 16% across Maine. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 198 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Maine: 84% 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.
Work next door: 13% of Detroit’s workers
The biggest share goes to Pittsfield (10%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Detroit workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | – | — | — | 24 min | $51,111 |
| Pittsfield | 10% | C− | B+ | 24 min | $57,381 |
| Plymouth | under 3% | C+ | D− | 28 min | $61,964 |
| Palmyra | 3% | C | C+ | 21 min | $60,543 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Detroit’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 2024, 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 Detroit: questions
What is the median household income in Detroit?
$51,111 (±$21,645) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,733 across Maine and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Detroit?
23.1%, against 10.7% across Maine and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Detroit?
24 minutes each way on average, against 25 across Maine and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Detroit work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bangor (11%, 25 mi), Pittsfield (10%, 6 mi), Newport (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Detroit without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Detroit, from the people who make the trip.
More of Detroit
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.