Grosse Pointe’s household incomes are higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.4 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 7.2 in Detroit. Below the poverty line: 2.8% of residents (Michigan 13.2%). Grosse Pointe 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
What sets Grosse Pointe apart on work
Grosse Pointe has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Grosse Pointe went from 1,675 in 2011 to 3,238 in 2021, +93%. The jobs ↓
A lot of Grosse Pointe works from home
26% of Grosse Pointe workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Grosse Pointe
71% of Grosse Pointe residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 46% of the jobs based in Grosse Pointe pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 95% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
A lot of Grosse Pointe works one town over
27% of working residents work in a town that borders Grosse Pointe: Detroit (24%) and Grosse Pointe Farms (3%). Next door ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How Grosse Pointe earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Grosse Pointe is better than 94% of U.S. towns, #36 of 701 in Michigan. Household income holds Grosse Pointe’s grade up ($158,853, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.3%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
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 could be anywhere from A to A+.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
3,238 jobs are based in Grosse Pointe.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Grosse Pointe, 2011 → 2021: 1,675 → 3,238. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 24 minutes from Grosse Pointe
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Grosse Pointe workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,919 commuters (the 25% 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.
Who commutes out of Grosse Pointe, and who commutes in
On a workday 2,270 residents head out to work, 127 work right here, and 3,111 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,300 people are in Grosse Pointe on a workday afternoon, 15% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.35 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.
24% of working residents work in Detroit
Where Grosse Pointe 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.
How many miles Grosse Pointe commutes
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 is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Grosse Pointe is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #51 of 701 in Michigan. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above 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 2,575 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 58% 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 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 63% 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). 7.1% of Grosse Pointe households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Grosse Pointe’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Grosse Pointe ranks: 271st of 3,612 U.S. towns of 3,800 to 7,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 53 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 124 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 269 | Taylor Creek OH | 4,253 | $99K | 3.7% | 2.2% | 2% | A |
| 270 | Poolesville MD | 5,942 | $206K | 2.8% | 4.0% | 6% | A |
| 271 | Grosse Pointe MI | 5,490 | $159K | 2.8% | 4.3% | 5% | A |
| 272 | Cranbury Township NJ | 4,240 | $217K | 3.6% | 4.1% | 6% | A |
| 273 | Belterra TX | 6,978 | $220K | 1.5% | 4.1% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,612 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door is work for 27% of Grosse Pointe
The biggest share goes to Detroit (24%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Grosse Pointe workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grosse Pointe | – | A | A | 24 min | $158,853 |
| Grosse Pointe Farms | 3% | A+ | A− | 24 min | $161,208 |
| Grosse Pointe Park | under 3% | A | A | 25 min | $124,111 |
| Detroit | 24% | C− | A+ | 25 min | $39,938 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Grosse Pointe’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: questions
What is the median household income in Grosse Pointe?
$158,853 (±$11,434) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Grosse Pointe?
2.8%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Grosse Pointe?
24 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 work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Detroit (24%, 10 mi), Warren (6%, 10 mi), Southfield (4%, 19 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Grosse Pointe walkable?
Grosse Pointe is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.5 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Grosse Pointe without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Grosse Pointe, from the people who make the trip.
More of Grosse Pointe
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.