Photo: Amin Eshaiker · CC BY-SA 4.0Melvindale’s household incomes are lower than in 95% of U.S. towns
Only 4% work in Melvindale itself; outside it, Detroit draws the most (15%, 8 miles). Poverty touches 39.1% of residents, next to 13.2% for Michigan as a whole. The two grades for Melvindale are C− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Melvindale: the gist
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Melvindale
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Melvindale is better than 23% of U.S. towns, #591 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Melvindale’s grade up (ahead of 94% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
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, Melvindale could be anywhere from C− to B−.
The places Melvindale commutes to
Where Melvindale clocks in
10% of workers
5% 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.
In and out of Melvindale on a workday
On a workday 3,675 residents head out to work, 147 work right here, and 2,154 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Melvindale on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.60 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.
The kinds of work in Melvindale
2,301 jobs are based in Melvindale.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Melvindale, 2011 → 2021: 2,344 → 2,301. 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 Melvindale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 25 minutes to work from Melvindale
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Melvindale workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,899 commuters (the 8% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Melvindale
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.
For most of Melvindale, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Melvindale is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns, #122 of 701 in Michigan. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.8% 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 4,216 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 9% 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 1.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 60% 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). 6.8% of Melvindale households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Melvindale’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 2,354 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000, Melvindale comes 1,986th on jobs and income
| # | 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 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,984 | Galena Park TX | 10,352 | $51K | 20.9% | 15.4% | 3% | C− |
| 1,985 | Dayton TX | 10,226 | $60K | 20.6% | 7.1% | 10% | C− |
| 1,986 | Melvindale MI | 12,325 | $42K | 39.1% | 6.1% | 4% | C− |
| 1,987 | Circleville OH | 14,634 | $60K | 18.9% | 6.8% | 12% | C− |
| 1,988 | Port Lavaca TX | 11,060 | $70K | 10.2% | 10.5% | 24% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | 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 Melvindale, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
The towns next door employ 28% of Melvindale
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Melvindale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melvindale | – | C− | B+ | 25 min | $42,185 |
| Dearborn | 10% | C | A− | 22 min | $65,324 |
| Allen Park | 3% | B+ | C+ | 24 min | $81,655 |
| Detroit | 15% | C− | A+ | 25 min | $39,938 |
| Lincoln Park | under 3% | C | B | 24 min | $58,616 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Detroit. Darker towns draw more of Melvindale’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 Melvindale: questions
What is the median household income in Melvindale?
$42,185 (±$5,629) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Melvindale?
39.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Melvindale?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Melvindale work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Detroit (15%, 8 mi), Dearborn (10%, 3 mi), Livonia (5%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Melvindale walkable?
Melvindale is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Melvindale without a car?
1% 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 Melvindale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Melvindale
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.