William and Margot Kessler House · Photo: Balthazar Korab · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Grosse Pointe Park earn more than those in 90% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.1 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 7.2 in Detroit. Poverty touches 4.9% of residents, against 13.2% across Michigan. Grosse Pointe Park grades A for jobs and income and A for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Grosse Pointe Park in brief
Fewer jobs are based in Grosse Pointe Park than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Grosse Pointe Park fell from 1,627 in 2011 to 960 in 2021, −41%. 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 ↓
A lot of Grosse Pointe Park works one town over
32% of working residents work in a town that borders Grosse Pointe Park: Detroit (29%) and Grosse Pointe (3%). Next door ↓
A lot of Grosse Pointe Park works from home
26% of Grosse Pointe Park workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Grosse Pointe Park
70% of Grosse Pointe Park residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 45% of the jobs based in Grosse Pointe Park pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Grosse Pointe Park is a place people come home to
There are 960 jobs based in Grosse Pointe Park, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Grosse Pointe Park has about 7,100 people in it, 36% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Grosse Pointe Park’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Grosse Pointe Park is better than 93% of U.S. towns, #41 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car is its strongest input; unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.3%, 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, Grosse Pointe Park could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The kinds of work in Grosse Pointe Park
960 jobs are based in Grosse Pointe Park.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Grosse Pointe Park, 2011 → 2021: 1,627 → 960. 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 Grosse Pointe Park’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 25 minutes from Grosse Pointe Park
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Grosse Pointe Park workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,636 commuters (the 26% 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 daily commute in and out of Grosse Pointe Park
On a workday 4,740 residents head out to work, 180 work right here, and 780 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,100 people are in Grosse Pointe Park on a workday afternoon, 36% fewer than live here.
0.20 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.
29% of working residents work in Detroit
Where Grosse Pointe Park 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Grosse Pointe Park
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.
Grosse Pointe Park is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,246 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 88% 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 3.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 76% 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). 5.2% of Grosse Pointe Park households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Grosse Pointe Park’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Grosse Pointe Park is 269th of 2,507 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 267 | Ipswich MA | 14,131 | $139K | 5.7% | 2.0% | 18% | A |
| 268 | Zeeland Township MI | 12,305 | $114K | 3.1% | 3.1% | 5% | A |
| 269 | Grosse Pointe Park MI | 11,095 | $124K | 4.9% | 3.3% | 4% | A |
| 270 | Rolesville NC | 12,839 | $150K | 1.1% | 3.7% | 3% | A |
| 271 | Tea SD | 8,019 | $120K | 4.7% | 2.0% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 22% | 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 Grosse Pointe Park, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
32% of Grosse Pointe Park works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Detroit (29%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Grosse Pointe Park workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grosse Pointe Park | – | A | A | 25 min | $124,111 |
| Detroit | 29% | C− | A+ | 25 min | $39,938 |
| Grosse Pointe | 3% | A | A | 24 min | $158,853 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Grosse Pointe Park’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 Grosse Pointe Park: questions
What is the median household income in Grosse Pointe Park?
$124,111 (±$12,196) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Grosse Pointe Park?
4.9%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Grosse Pointe Park?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 26% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Grosse Pointe Park work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Detroit (29%, 9 mi), Warren (6%, 10 mi), Southfield (4%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Grosse Pointe Park walkable?
Grosse Pointe Park is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.4 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Grosse Pointe Park without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 15% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Grosse Pointe Park, from the people who make the trip.
More of Grosse Pointe Park
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.