Photo: Lrgjr72 · CC BY-SA 4.0Ferndale has higher household incomes than 73% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Ferndale is better than 80% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (A−). 9.0% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 13.2% for Michigan as a whole. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 7.2 in Detroit.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Ferndale, in a few figures
Home offices are common in Ferndale
28% of Ferndale workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Time on the road ↓
Ferndale and Detroit trade workers both ways
Detroit is the top workplace for Ferndale residents (20%) and also where the most people who work in Ferndale come from (13% of its jobs). 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 Ferndale
Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 96% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. 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, Ferndale could be anywhere from B to A.
Time on the road from Ferndale: about 23 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ferndale workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,496 commuters (the 28% 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.
20% of working residents work in Detroit
Where Ferndale clocks in
8% of workers
7% 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.
Ferndale quiets down on a workday
On a workday 8,924 residents head out to work, 504 work right here, and 6,807 people come in from elsewhere.
About 17,000 people are in Ferndale on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.78 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.
A place that makes things: 31% of Ferndale’s jobs are in goods
7,311 jobs are based in Ferndale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ferndale, 2011 → 2021: 6,727 → 7,311. 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 Ferndale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Ferndale 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.
In Ferndale, walking beats the bus
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.5% 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 13,202 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 33% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 5% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 73% 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). 5.5% of Ferndale households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Ferndale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ferndale is 686th of 2,023 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 26,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 16 | Southfield Township MI | 14,671 | $185K | 4.7% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Berkley MI | 15,145 | $116K | 4.5% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 684 | Tallmadge OH | 18,521 | $89K | 5.0% | 4.1% | 9% | A− |
| 685 | Weston WI | 15,931 | $78K | 5.5% | 1.7% | 16% | A− |
| 686 | Ferndale MI | 19,212 | $95K | 9.0% | 3.7% | 5% | A− |
| 687 | Benbrook TX | 24,279 | $86K | 5.9% | 4.3% | 4% | A− |
| 688 | Foxborough MA | 18,934 | $116K | 5.7% | 5.8% | 10% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,023 | 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 Ferndale, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Ferndale and its neighbors: 24% work next door
The biggest share goes to Detroit (20%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ferndale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferndale | – | A− | A− | 23 min | $94,640 |
| Oak Park | under 3% | C+ | B+ | 23 min | $71,510 |
| Hazel Park | under 3% | B− | A− | 25 min | $67,073 |
| Royal Oak Township | under 3% | C− | A | 24 min | $47,679 |
| Pleasant Ridge | under 3% | A | B | 25 min | $171,125 |
| Royal Oak | 4% | A | B+ | 24 min | $101,109 |
| Detroit | 20% | C− | A+ | 25 min | $39,938 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ferndale’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 Ferndale: questions
What is the median household income in Ferndale?
$94,640 (±$5,294) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ferndale?
9.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ferndale?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 28% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ferndale work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Detroit (20%, 6 mi), Troy (8%, 9 mi), Southfield (7%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Ferndale walkable?
Ferndale is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.8 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ferndale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 5% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ferndale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ferndale
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.