Unemployment in Burton (7.1%) is higher than in 83% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Burton; the top destination outside it is Flint (14%, 4 miles). For jobs and income Burton is better than 30% of U.S. towns (C); for walkability it is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (B). Household incomes here are lower than in 74% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Burton apart on work
Burton trades workers with the towns around it
Burton has about as many jobs (10,715) as working residents (10,192), but they are mostly different people: 9,326 residents leave for work each day while 9,849 people come in. Only 8% of the jobs in Burton are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Burton works one town over
29% of working residents work in a town that borders Burton: Flint (14%), Flint Township (7%) and Grand Blanc Township (6%). Next door ↓
Burton draws workers from far and wide
The 10,715 jobs in Burton are filled from a wide area. Burton’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 36%; the other 56% 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.
Where Burton’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Job access by car holds Burton’s grade up (ahead of 76% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
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, Burton could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Who works in Burton, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 9,326 residents head out to work, 866 work right here, and 9,849 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 (1.05 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.
Where people from Burton work
Where Burton clocks in
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.
Inside Burton’s 10,715 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Burton, 2011 → 2021: 8,014 → 10,715. 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 Burton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Burton, about 27 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Burton workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,394 commuters (the 7% 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.
Burton’s commute, mile by mile
About 16% 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.
Burton is a driving town
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.2% 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 13,272 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 41% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 15% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 63% 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). 7.0% of Burton households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Burton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Burton is 1,165th of 1,366 U.S. towns of 21,000 to 40,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Northville Township MI | 31,399 | $151K | 3.1% | 2.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 121 | Lyon Township MI | 26,867 | $146K | 4.8% | 3.1% | 6% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 138 | Independence Township MI | 37,725 | $115K | 4.3% | 2.9% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,163 | Carlsbad NM | 32,524 | $72K | 13.8% | 5.2% | 57% | C |
| 1,164 | Alliance OH | 21,582 | $56K | 23.8% | 4.3% | 22% | C |
| 1,165 | Burton MI | 29,313 | $60K | 16.1% | 7.1% | 8% | C |
| 1,166 | Hazelwood MO | 24,849 | $56K | 15.9% | 10.4% | 6% | C |
| 1,167 | North Platte NE | 22,524 | $58K | 15.4% | 3.9% | 64% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,366 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Burton, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
29% of Burton works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Burton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burton | – | C | B | 27 min | $60,052 |
| Flint | 14% | D | A | 23 min | $37,646 |
| Davison Township | 2% | C+ | C | 25 min | $65,116 |
| Genesee Township | under 2% | C− | C+ | 28 min | $57,406 |
| Grand Blanc Township | 6% | B | C+ | 26 min | $84,520 |
| Flint Township | 7% | C | B | 22 min | $61,563 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Flint. Darker towns draw more of Burton’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 Burton: questions
What is the median household income in Burton?
$60,052 (±$4,874) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Burton?
16.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Burton?
27 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Burton work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Flint (14%, 4 mi), Flint Township (7%, 8 mi), Grand Blanc Township (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Burton walkable?
Burton is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Burton without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 15% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Burton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Burton
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.