Photo: Lrgjr72 · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Pontiac earn less than those in 93% of U.S. towns
5% of workers have no commute at all; Michigan has 14%. 24.4% of residents are in poverty, against 13.2% across Michigan. Pontiac grades 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
Work in Pontiac: the figures worth knowing
Pontiac is where the jobs are
Pontiac has 32,460 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
The jobs in Pontiac pay better than its residents’ jobs
64% of the jobs based in Pontiac pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 42% of the jobs Pontiac residents hold. 93% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Pontiac. The jobs ↓
Pontiac draws workers from far and wide
The 32,460 jobs in Pontiac are filled from a wide area. Pontiac’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 27%; the other 66% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Pontiac has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Pontiac went from 21,720 in 2011 to 32,460 in 2021, +49%. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Pontiac
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pontiac is better than 20% of U.S. towns, #612 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Pontiac’s grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (10.1%, U.S. 5.2%).
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 firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pontiac stays C−.
Pontiac on a workday afternoon
On a workday 16,834 residents head out to work, 2,253 work right here, and 30,207 people come in from elsewhere.
About 75,000 people are in Pontiac on a workday afternoon, 22% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
What the 32,460 jobs in Pontiac are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pontiac, 2011 → 2021: 21,720 → 32,460. 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.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Pontiac’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where the people who work in Pontiac live
Where Pontiac clocks in
11% of workers
6% 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.
Each way, about 21 minutes from Pontiac
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pontiac workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 24,716 commuters (the 5% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Pontiac
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.
Few in Pontiac walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pontiac is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #169 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Pontiac 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 25,956 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). 15.6% of Pontiac households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Pontiac’s commuters take a bus or train.
Pontiac and other U.S. towns of 43,000 to 84,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Bloomfield Township MI | 43,904 | $163K | 4.8% | 3.6% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 101 | Meridian Township MI | 44,869 | $87K | 13.1% | 3.6% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 110 | Rochester Hills MI | 77,539 | $121K | 5.2% | 4.1% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 689 | Center Township IN | 64,861 | $44K | 29.0% | 7.7% | 41% | C− |
| 690 | Muncie IN | 65,466 | $44K | 29.2% | 7.8% | 39% | C− |
| 691 | Pontiac MI | 62,077 | $44K | 24.4% | 10.1% | 12% | C− |
| 692 | Hagerstown MD | 44,228 | $52K | 21.9% | 7.2% | 19% | C− |
| 693 | York PA | 45,342 | $48K | 21.1% | 10.7% | 14% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 730 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Pontiac, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Bordering towns draw 19% of Pontiac’s workers
The biggest share goes to Auburn Hills (11%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pontiac workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontiac | – | C− | B | 21 min | $44,329 |
| Auburn Hills | 11% | B | B | 22 min | $84,375 |
| Bloomfield Township | 3% | A | B− | 24 min | $162,788 |
| Waterford Township | 5% | B | C+ | 27 min | $77,101 |
| Lake Angelus | under 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Sylvan Lake | under 3% | A | B+ | 25 min | $106,429 |
Same-state neighbors only. Lake Angelus: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Pontiac’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 Pontiac: questions
What is the median household income in Pontiac?
$44,329 (±$3,375) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pontiac?
24.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pontiac?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pontiac work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Auburn Hills (11%, 3 mi), Troy (6%, 8 mi), Waterford Township (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Pontiac walkable?
Pontiac is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pontiac without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pontiac, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pontiac
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.