Photo: formulanone · CC BY-SA 2.0Belleville has higher unemployment (9.7%) than 94% of U.S. towns
Only 3% work in Belleville itself; outside it, Ann Arbor draws the most (10%, 14 miles). Jobs and income earn Belleville B−; getting around on foot earns it B−. 24% of workers have no commute at all (Michigan 14%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Belleville, in a few figures
Belleville trades workers with the towns around it
Belleville has about as many jobs (1,536) as working residents (1,672), but they are mostly different people: 1,622 residents leave for work each day while 1,486 people come in. Only 3% of the jobs in Belleville are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Belleville than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Belleville fell from 2,825 in 2011 to 1,536 in 2021, −46%. 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 ↓
A lot of Belleville works from home
24% of Belleville workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Belleville’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Belleville is better than 51% of U.S. towns, #393 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Belleville’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate.
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, Belleville could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
The daily flow of workers through Belleville
On a workday 1,622 residents head out to work, 50 work right here, and 1,486 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 (0.92 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
1,536 jobs are based in Belleville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Belleville, 2011 → 2021: 2,825 → 1,536. 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 Belleville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Belleville: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Belleville workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,367 commuters (the 23% 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 people from Belleville work
Where Belleville clocks in
10% 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.
The distance from Belleville to work
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.
Driving is how Belleville gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Belleville is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #230 of 701 in Michigan. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.5% of 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 1,786 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 13.4% of Belleville households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Belleville’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Belleville is 2,127th of 4,264 U.S. towns of 2,700 to 5,200
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 114 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | Ann Arbor Township MI | 4,506 | $165K | 7.2% | 0.5% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,125 | Salem Township OH | 2,703 | $70K | 12.0% | 0.1% | 4% | B− |
| 2,126 | Swartz LA | 4,110 | $67K | 14.6% | 2.0% | 2% | B− |
| 2,127 | Belleville MI | 3,851 | $63K | 5.5% | 9.7% | 3% | B− |
| 2,128 | Woodlawn OH | 3,928 | $75K | 15.9% | 4.8% | 5% | B− |
| 2,129 | Oconto WI | 4,640 | $62K | 12.3% | 0.5% | 26% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,264 | 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 Belleville, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
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 Belleville: questions
What is the median household income in Belleville?
$62,991 (±$4,741) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Belleville?
5.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Belleville?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Belleville work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ann Arbor (10%, 14 mi), Detroit (8%, 23 mi), Romulus (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Belleville walkable?
Belleville is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Belleville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Belleville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Belleville
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.