Rowe House · Photo: Traveler100 · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Highland Township commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
There are 4,491 jobs in Highland Township, and 8,746 of its residents work somewhere. For jobs and income Highland Township is better than 71% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns (C−). About one in ten work in Highland Township itself; outside it, Milford Township draws the most (5%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Highland Township and work: the main findings
Highland Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 84 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
No single place dominates Highland Township’s commute
The biggest draw, Milford Township, gets only 5% of working residents, and 57% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Highland Township residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Highland Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Highland Township went from 3,162 in 2011 to 4,491 in 2021, +42%. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
40% of the jobs in Highland Township are in trade, transport and utilities, against 21% of the jobs its residents hold. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Highland Township gets the Jobs & income grade it does
Household income holds Highland Township’s grade up ($96,574, 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, Highland Township could be anywhere from B to A.
A commute of about 35 minutes in Highland Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Highland Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,966 commuters (the 16% 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 towns that employ Highland Township’s residents
Where Highland Township clocks in
Lines 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.
The kinds of work in Highland Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Highland Township, 2011 → 2021: 3,162 → 4,491. 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 Highland Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Highland Township
On a workday 7,969 residents head out to work, 777 work right here, and 3,714 people come in from elsewhere.
About 16,000 people are in Highland Township on a workday afternoon, 21% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
Highland Township’s commute, mile by mile
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.
The commute in Highland Township is mostly behind the wheel
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% 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 9,452 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). 1.8% of Highland Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Highland Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
840th of 1,860: where Highland Township ranks among U.S. towns of 14,000 to 27,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Southfield Township MI | 14,671 | $185K | 4.7% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Berkley MI | 15,145 | $116K | 4.5% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 838 | Burrillville RI | 16,927 | $120K | 6.5% | 6.6% | 14% | B+ |
| 839 | Cedar Mill OR | 19,471 | $164K | 8.1% | 7.8% | 3% | B+ |
| 840 | Highland Township MI | 20,319 | $97K | 8.3% | 4.3% | 9% | B+ |
| 841 | Wade Hampton SC | 20,898 | $77K | 7.2% | 4.0% | 5% | B+ |
| 842 | Morris IL | 14,669 | $77K | 7.7% | 2.9% | 20% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,860 | 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 Highland Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
How Highland Township compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Highland Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Township | – | B+ | C− | 35 min | $96,574 |
| Hartland Township | under 4% | A+ | B | 29 min | $108,568 |
| Milford Township | 5% | A | C+ | 30 min | $109,657 |
| Rose Township | under 4% | B+ | D− | 40 min | $107,262 |
| White Lake Township | under 4% | B+ | C | 32 min | $94,985 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Milford Township. Darker towns draw more of Highland Township’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 Highland Township: questions
What is the median household income in Highland Township?
$96,574 (±$9,213) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Highland Township?
8.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Highland Township?
35 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Highland Township work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Milford Township (5%, 6 mi), Detroit (5%, 32 mi), Waterford Township (4%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Highland Township walkable?
Highland Township is more walkable than 25% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 6.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Highland Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Highland Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Highland Township
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.