Charles H. Calkins House · Photo: kennethaw88 · CC BY 4.0More people are out of work in Perry (7.1%) than in 83% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 27 minutes each way, where Michigan has 24 and the U.S. 26. Perry grades C for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Only 7% stay in Perry for work; outside it, East Lansing is the main destination (9%, 14 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Perry stands out on work
Many jobs in Perry pay little
44% of the jobs based in Perry pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 35% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Perry
57% of Perry residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 22% of the jobs based in Perry pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 93% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Perry has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Perry went from 320 in 2011 to 565 in 2021, +77%. 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 716 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Inside Perry’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Perry is better than 31% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Perry’s grade up (ahead of 64% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (19.1%, U.S. 12.5%).
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, Perry could be anywhere from D to A.
The kinds of work in Perry
565 jobs are based in Perry.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Perry, 2011 → 2021: 320 → 565. 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 Perry’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Perry
On a workday 664 residents head out to work, 52 work right here, and 513 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.79 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.
Where the trip to work from Perry ends
Where Perry clocks in
9% of workers
4% of workers
3% 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.
About 27 minutes each way, longer than most of Michigan
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Perry workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 935 commuters (the 11% 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.
Perry’s commute, mile by mile
About 25% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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 of Perry commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Perry is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Perry 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 1,055 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 2.9% of Perry households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Perry’s commuters take a bus or train.
Perry is 3,351st of 5,404 U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,900 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 94 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 132 | 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 |
| … | |||||||
| 3,349 | Mills Township MI | 1,807 | $72K | 11.6% | 4.5% | 1% | C |
| 3,350 | Dillingham AK | 2,075 | $101K | 11.1% | 6.1% | — | C |
| 3,351 | Perry MI | 2,134 | $75K | 19.1% | 7.1% | 7% | C |
| 3,352 | Pinehurst TX | 2,206 | $50K | 12.1% | 2.9% | 2% | C |
| 3,353 | Follansbee WV | 2,668 | $58K | 8.1% | 5.9% | 6% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 5,404 | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Perry, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
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 Perry: questions
What is the median household income in Perry?
$75,321 (±$18,514) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Perry?
19.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Perry?
27 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Perry work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are East Lansing (9%, 14 mi), Meridian Township (4%, 12 mi), Owosso (3%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Perry walkable?
Perry is more walkable than 47% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Perry without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Perry, from the people who make the trip.
More of Perry
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.