New Center Commercial Historic District · Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Ecorse earn less than those in 96% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 0.8 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 7.2 in Detroit. 29.4% of residents live below the poverty line, where Michigan as a whole has 13.2%. Jobs and income earn Ecorse C−; getting around on foot earns it A−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Ecorse apart
Fewer jobs are based in Ecorse than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Ecorse fell from 3,230 in 2011 to 1,150 in 2021, −64%. 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 ↓
Fewer than half of Ecorse workers earn over $40,000 a year
41% of Ecorse’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 21% earn $1,250 a month or less. 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’s behind Ecorse’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ecorse is better than 18% of U.S. towns, #616 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Ecorse’s grade up (ahead of 89% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($40,241, U.S. $80,734).
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, Ecorse could be anywhere from D to C+.
What Ecorse’s employers do
1,150 jobs are based in Ecorse.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ecorse, 2011 → 2021: 3,230 → 1,150. 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 Ecorse’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Ecorse
On a workday 2,709 residents head out to work, 144 work right here, and 1,006 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,200 people are in Ecorse on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.40 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.
14% of working residents work in Detroit
Where Ecorse clocks in
6% of workers
4% 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.
About 23 minutes each way, about the MI average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ecorse workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,902 commuters (the 11% 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.
Miles to work from Ecorse
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.
Ecorse is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Ecorse is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns, #95 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Ecorse near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,272 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 28% 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 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 55% 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). 15.9% of Ecorse households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Ecorse’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Ecorse is 2,544th of 2,907 U.S. towns of 6,200 to 12,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 3 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,542 | Waikoloa Village HI | 7,543 | $82K | 12.4% | 8.3% | 3% | C− |
| 2,543 | Reserve LA | 7,791 | $55K | 19.1% | 14.5% | 11% | C− |
| 2,544 | Ecorse MI | 8,893 | $40K | 29.4% | 8.2% | 5% | C− |
| 2,545 | Brookhaven MS | 11,646 | $37K | 28.6% | 3.4% | 43% | C− |
| 2,546 | Salem OH | 11,655 | $47K | 21.3% | 6.2% | 26% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,907 | 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 Ecorse, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
14% of Ecorse works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ecorse workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ecorse | – | C− | A− | 23 min | $40,241 |
| Lincoln Park | under 3% | C | B | 24 min | $58,616 |
| River Rouge | under 3% | C− | A | 26 min | $41,053 |
| Wyandotte | under 3% | B | B+ | 24 min | $71,987 |
| Detroit | 14% | C− | A+ | 25 min | $39,938 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Detroit. Darker towns draw more of Ecorse’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 Ecorse: questions
What is the median household income in Ecorse?
$40,241 (±$5,775) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ecorse?
29.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ecorse?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ecorse work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Detroit (14%, 9 mi), Dearborn (6%, 6 mi), Southfield (4%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Ecorse walkable?
Ecorse is more walkable than 77% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 7.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ecorse without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ecorse, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ecorse
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.