Kittie C. McCoy House · Photo: Traveler100 · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Commerce Township have higher incomes than those in 85% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 6.0% of residents; Michigan has 13.2%. The two grades for Commerce Township are A for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Only 7% stay in Commerce Township for work; outside it, Farmington Hills is the main destination (7%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Commerce Township, in a few figures
No single place dominates Commerce Township’s commute
The biggest draw, Farmington Hills, gets only 7% of working residents, and 51% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Commerce Township residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Commerce Township
67% of Commerce Township residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 48% of the jobs based in Commerce Township pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Commerce Township draws workers from far and wide
The 11,600 jobs in Commerce Township are filled from a wide area. Commerce Township’s own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 31%; the other 58% 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Commerce Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Commerce Township is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #86 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.7%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Commerce Township could be anywhere from A− to A.
Out of Commerce Township to work: where people go
Where Commerce Township clocks in
7% of workers
6% 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.
What the 11,600 jobs in Commerce Township are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Commerce Township, 2011 → 2021: 14,068 → 11,600. 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 Commerce Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Commerce Township: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 17,797 residents head out to work, 1,303 work right here, and 10,297 people come in from elsewhere.
About 38,000 people are in Commerce Township on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.61 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Commerce Township’s commute takes about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Commerce Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 18,717 commuters (the 17% 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 Commerce Township 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.
Few in Commerce Township walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Commerce Township is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns, #322 of 701 in Michigan. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% 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 22,669 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). 2.7% of Commerce Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Commerce Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Commerce Township is 199th among 953 U.S. towns of 32,000 to 61,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Bloomfield Township MI | 43,904 | $163K | 4.8% | 3.6% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 86 | Independence Township MI | 37,725 | $115K | 4.3% | 2.9% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 159 | Meridian Township MI | 44,869 | $87K | 13.1% | 3.6% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 197 | The Colony TX | 46,196 | $115K | 6.7% | 4.1% | 4% | A |
| 198 | Franklin WI | 36,687 | $107K | 6.7% | 3.4% | 8% | A |
| 199 | Commerce Township MI | 45,067 | $113K | 6.0% | 3.7% | 7% | A |
| 200 | Danville CA | 43,302 | $232K | 3.8% | 5.6% | 7% | A |
| 201 | Montclair Township NJ | 44,633 | $151K | 7.5% | 4.5% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 953 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Commerce Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door to Commerce Township
The biggest share goes to Wixom (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Commerce Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commerce Township | – | A | C+ | 28 min | $113,148 |
| Walled Lake | under 3% | B | B− | 24 min | $72,055 |
| West Bloomfield Township | under 3% | A− | C+ | 28 min | $125,453 |
| Wixom | 4% | B | B | 25 min | $65,485 |
| Wolverine Lake | under 3% | A | B− | 24 min | $92,247 |
| White Lake Township | under 3% | B+ | C | 32 min | $94,985 |
| Milford Township | under 3% | A | C+ | 30 min | $109,657 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Commerce Township’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 Commerce Township: questions
What is the median household income in Commerce Township?
$113,148 (±$6,861) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Commerce Township?
6.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Commerce Township?
28 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Commerce Township work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Farmington Hills (7%, 9 mi), Novi (6%, 7 mi), Southfield (6%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Commerce Township walkable?
Commerce Township is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Commerce Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Commerce Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Commerce Township
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.