John W. Hunter House · Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Birmingham top those of 95% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Birmingham is better than 91% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (B+). 5.1% of residents are in poverty; Michigan has 13.2%. 26% of workers have no commute at all, next to 14% for Michigan as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Birmingham at work: what stands out
Birmingham is where the jobs are
Birmingham has 14,228 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Birmingham
26% of Birmingham workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Birmingham
76% of Birmingham residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 55% of the jobs based in Birmingham pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 91% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Birmingham draws workers from far and wide
The 14,228 jobs in Birmingham are filled from a wide area. Birmingham’s own residents hold 6% and the ten next-biggest home towns 33%; the other 61% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Why Birmingham gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Household income holds Birmingham’s grade up ($153,510, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
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, poverty and unemployment, Birmingham could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The workday shuffle in and out of Birmingham
On a workday 7,848 residents head out to work, 785 work right here, and 13,443 people come in from elsewhere.
About 28,000 people are in Birmingham on a workday afternoon, 26% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
The daily trip from Birmingham: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Birmingham workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,054 commuters (the 26% 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 kinds of work in Birmingham
14,228 jobs are based in Birmingham.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Birmingham, 2011 → 2021: 13,868 → 14,228. 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 Birmingham’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where the people who work in Birmingham live
Where Birmingham clocks in
9% of workers
8% 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.
How many miles Birmingham commutes
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 Birmingham, most people drive to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.6% 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 10,926 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). 4.1% of Birmingham households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Birmingham’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Birmingham is 285th of 1,847 U.S. towns of 15,000 to 30,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 60 | Berkley MI | 15,145 | $116K | 4.5% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 88 | Oakland Township MI | 20,631 | $167K | 2.7% | 3.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 136 | Hartland Township MI | 16,108 | $109K | 3.1% | 2.1% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 283 | Bradfordville FL | 18,953 | $133K | 3.6% | 2.0% | 5% | A |
| 284 | Silver Firs WA | 22,306 | $163K | 5.9% | 3.0% | 2% | A |
| 285 | Birmingham MI | 21,923 | $154K | 5.1% | 4.4% | 9% | A |
| 286 | Farmington MN | 25,425 | $124K | 5.1% | 3.4% | 10% | A |
| 287 | Falls Church VA | 15,159 | $143K | 4.0% | 5.0% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,847 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Birmingham, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Work next door: 12% of Birmingham’s workers
The biggest share goes to Troy (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Birmingham workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | – | A | B+ | 20 min | $153,510 |
| Bloomfield Township | 3% | A | B− | 24 min | $162,788 |
| Troy | 9% | A | B | 24 min | $120,045 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Birmingham’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 Birmingham: questions
What is the median household income in Birmingham?
$153,510 (±$14,199) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Birmingham?
5.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Birmingham?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Birmingham work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Troy (9%, 4 mi), Detroit (9%, 13 mi), Southfield (8%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Birmingham walkable?
Birmingham is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Birmingham without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Birmingham, from the people who make the trip.
More of Birmingham
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.