Most of Memphis commutes out: there are 0.6 jobs for every working resident
For jobs and income Memphis is better than 9% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (B−). There are 289 jobs in Memphis; 513 of its residents have a job. 2% of workers have no commute at all, against 14% across Michigan.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Memphis and work: the main findings
Memphis workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 107 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Memphis workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
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 513 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Inside Memphis’ Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Memphis’ grade up (ahead of 27% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (24.7%, U.S. 12.5%).
Unemployment (4.3%) is left out: Memphis’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
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 and poverty, Memphis could be anywhere from D− to C−.
A commute of about 38 minutes in Memphis
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Memphis workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 459 commuters (the 2% 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 leaves Memphis for work, and who comes in
On a workday 499 residents head out to work, 14 work right here, and 275 people come in from elsewhere.
About 870 people are in Memphis 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.
7% of working residents work in Detroit
Where Memphis 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.
Goods jobs make up 31% of work in Memphis
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Memphis, 2011 → 2021: 377 → 289. 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 Memphis’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Memphis’ 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.
Most trips from Memphis start in a car
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 3.8% across Michigan, on an EPA index of 6.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 469 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). 11.6% of Memphis households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Memphis’ commuters take a bus or train.
3,125th of 3,771: where Memphis ranks among U.S. towns of 800 to 1,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 95 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 225 | Petersburg MI | 1,152 | $83K | 1.8% | 1.7% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 275 | Freedom Township MI | 1,298 | $113K | 6.7% | 2.5% | 1% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,123 | Andrews FL | 1,275 | $53K | 13.6% | 0.0% | 2% | D |
| 3,124 | Sunnyside GA | 1,031 | $44K | 21.7% | 0.0% | <1% | D |
| 3,125 | Memphis MI | 1,091 | $57K | 24.7% | 4.3% | 3% | D |
| 3,126 | Huntsville MO | 1,362 | $53K | 17.9% | 0.0% | 7% | D |
| 3,127 | Reserve Township IN | 1,301 | $51K | 17.4% | 6.0% | 2% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,771 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Memphis, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Memphis and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Richmond Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Memphis workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis | – | D | B− | 38 min | $57,222 |
| Richmond Township | 3% | B | D | 32 min | $126,450 |
| Riley Township | under 3% | A− | D− | 34 min | $97,262 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Memphis’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 Memphis: questions
What is the median household income in Memphis?
$57,222 (±$16,844) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Memphis?
24.7%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Memphis?
38 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Memphis work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Detroit (7%, 39 mi), Richmond (5%, 6 mi), Clinton Township (5%, 22 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Memphis walkable?
Memphis is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Memphis without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Memphis, from the people who make the trip.
More of Memphis
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.