Fraser’s household incomes are lower than in 67% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Fraser B; getting around on foot earns it B−. Poverty touches 10.4% of residents; Michigan has 13.2%. Only 5% work in Fraser itself; outside it, Detroit draws the most (11%, 13 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Fraser in brief
Fraser trades workers with the towns around it
Fraser has about as many jobs (7,253) as working residents (6,340), but they are mostly different people: 5,995 residents leave for work each day while 6,908 people come in. Only 5% of the jobs in Fraser are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Fraser makes and builds things
38% of the jobs based in Fraser are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Fraser residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 20%. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Fraser’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fraser is better than 58% of U.S. towns, #329 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Fraser’s grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($64,354, 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 rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fraser could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
The daily commute in and out of Fraser
On a workday 5,995 residents head out to work, 345 work right here, and 6,908 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 (1.14 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.
38% of the jobs in Fraser make or build things
7,253 jobs are based in Fraser.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fraser, 2011 → 2021: 7,651 → 7,253. 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 Fraser’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where people from Fraser work
Where Fraser clocks in
9% 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.
From Fraser, about 24 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fraser workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,577 commuters (the 14% 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.
The commute from Fraser, by distance
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 Fraser walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fraser is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns, #229 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Fraser 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 7,644 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). 8.6% of Fraser households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Fraser’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Fraser is 1,298th of 2,362 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 20,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Southfield Township MI | 14,671 | $185K | 4.7% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,296 | Menasha WI | 18,385 | $65K | 12.0% | 3.2% | 7% | B |
| 1,297 | Dennis MA | 14,906 | $88K | 6.7% | 4.6% | 16% | B |
| 1,298 | Fraser MI | 14,496 | $64K | 10.4% | 4.3% | 5% | B |
| 1,299 | Walker Mill MD | 10,931 | $88K | 10.3% | 8.2% | <1% | B |
| 1,300 | Los Alamitos CA | 11,702 | $97K | 8.9% | 9.2% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,362 | 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 Fraser, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
The towns around Fraser
The biggest share goes to Clinton Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fraser workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fraser | – | B | B− | 24 min | $64,354 |
| Roseville | 3% | C+ | B | 26 min | $62,182 |
| Clinton Township | 6% | B | B+ | 25 min | $74,244 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fraser’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 Fraser: questions
What is the median household income in Fraser?
$64,354 (±$6,868) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fraser?
10.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fraser?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fraser work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Detroit (11%, 13 mi), Warren (9%, 5 mi), Troy (7%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Fraser walkable?
Fraser is more walkable than 54% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fraser without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fraser, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fraser
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.