Photo: LHOON from Mechelen, Belgium · CC BY-SA 2.0Manchester has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income B+: better than 66% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access.
Walkability B: more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns.
Household incomes here are higher than in 65% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 33 minutes each way (Michigan 24, U.S. 26). Only 7% work in Manchester; the top destination outside it is Ann Arbor (19%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Manchester
Manchester workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Manchester than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Manchester fell from 704 in 2011 to 460 in 2021, −35%. 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 ↓
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; with 921 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What’s behind Manchester’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Manchester is better than 66% of U.S. towns. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Manchester’s grade. It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment 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 rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Manchester could be anywhere from C+ to A.
About 33 minutes each way, longer than most of Michigan
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Manchester workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,137 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Manchester makes things: 33% of its jobs are in goods
460 jobs are based in Manchester. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Manchester’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Manchester, 2011 → 2021: 704 → 460. 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.
Manchester quiets down on a workday
On a workday 859 residents head out to work, 62 work right here, and 398 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Manchester on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
0.50 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.
19% of working residents work in Ann Arbor
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Manchester clocks in
19% of workers
9% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
Half of Manchester commutes less than 18 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2021.
Most trips from Manchester start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Manchester is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Manchester 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 1,383 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 0.0 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). 3.1% of Manchester households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Manchester’s commuters take a bus or train.
Manchester is 1,401st of 5,509 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,700 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Manchester, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 100 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 137 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 213 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,399 | Ohio Township IN | 1,848 | $97K | 9.2% | 0.0% | <1% | B+ |
| 1,400 | Bristol NY | 2,261 | $86K | 7.0% | 3.4% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,401 | Manchester MI | 2,027 | $88K | 7.3% | 3.7% | 7% | B+ |
| 1,402 | Alhambra Township IL | 1,583 | $94K | 9.1% | 2.8% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,403 | Beaver Township MI | 2,684 | $89K | 4.8% | 4.2% | 2% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,509 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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.
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 Manchester: questions
What is the median household income in Manchester?
$87,614 (±$10,929) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Manchester?
7.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Manchester?
33 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Manchester work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ann Arbor (19%, 18 mi), Manchester Township (9%, 3 mi), Pittsfield Township (6%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Manchester walkable?
Manchester is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Manchester without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Manchester, from the people who make the trip.
More of Manchester
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.