Photo: WeaponizingArchitecture · CC BY-SA 4.0Brighton has 2.8 jobs for every working resident: 8,716 people commute in to work
About one in ten work in Brighton; the top destination outside it is Ann Arbor (11%, 18 miles). Employers in Brighton report 9,058 jobs, and 3,278 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for Brighton are A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Brighton
Brighton is where the jobs are
Brighton has 9,058 jobs, 2.8 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 14,000 people are in town, 73% more than the 7,900 who live here. Day and night ↓
Brighton draws workers from far and wide
The 9,058 jobs in Brighton are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 29%; the other 67% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Brighton
63% of Brighton residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 42% of the jobs based in Brighton pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 90% 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.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Brighton
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Brighton is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #162 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 87% of U.S. towns); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($80,682, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
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, Brighton could be anywhere from B to A.
The daily commute in and out of Brighton
On a workday 2,936 residents head out to work and 342 work right here.
About 14,000 people are in Brighton on a workday afternoon, 73% more than live here.
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 Brighton’s workforce comes from
Where Brighton clocks in
11% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
What Brighton’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brighton, 2011 → 2021: 10,995 → 9,058. 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 Brighton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 25 minutes in Brighton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brighton workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,207 commuters (the 18% 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 Brighton goes 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.
The commute in Brighton is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Brighton is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns, #138 of 701 in Michigan. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.8% 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 3,920 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 30% 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 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 50% 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). 9.9% of Brighton households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Brighton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Brighton is 857th of 3,069 U.S. towns of 5,500 to 10,700 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 855 | Spring Arbor Township MI | 8,526 | $87K | 6.5% | 2.1% | 7% | A− |
| 856 | Tiburon CA | 8,881 | $233K | 1.9% | 10.5% | 5% | A− |
| 857 | Brighton MI | 7,904 | $81K | 8.1% | 2.9% | 10% | A− |
| 858 | Chester Township OH | 9,995 | $111K | 7.7% | 4.3% | 9% | A− |
| 859 | Corona de Tucson AZ | 9,566 | $133K | 2.6% | 4.6% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,069 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Brighton, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
The towns around Brighton
The biggest share goes to Brighton Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Brighton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brighton | – | A− | B+ | 25 min | $80,682 |
| Genoa Township | 4% | A− | C | 28 min | $100,716 |
| Brighton Township | 5% | A | C+ | 27 min | $132,610 |
| Green Oak Township | under 3% | A | C− | 32 min | $119,335 |
| Hamburg Township | under 3% | A | C− | 32 min | $113,980 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Brighton’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 Brighton: questions
What is the median household income in Brighton?
$80,682 (±$7,181) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brighton?
8.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brighton?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brighton work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ann Arbor (11%, 18 mi), Brighton Township (5%, 4 mi), Novi (5%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Brighton walkable?
Brighton is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brighton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brighton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brighton
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.