St. Clair River Tunnel · Public domainAt 8.9%, unemployment in Port Huron is higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
6% of workers work from home, where Michigan as a whole has 14%. The two grades for Port Huron are D for jobs and income and A for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 87% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Port Huron
Port Huron trades workers with the towns around it
Port Huron has about as many jobs (12,138) as working residents (11,635), but they are mostly different people: 9,012 residents leave for work each day while 9,515 people come in. Only 22% of the jobs in Port Huron are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Fewer than half of Port Huron workers earn over $40,000 a year
43% of Port Huron’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 20% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Port Huron than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Port Huron fell from 16,091 in 2011 to 12,138 in 2021, −25%. 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.
What’s behind Port Huron’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Port Huron is better than 12% of U.S. towns, #653 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Port Huron’s grade up (ahead of 57% of U.S. towns); unemployment 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, Port Huron could be anywhere from D to C−.
The daily commute in and out of Port Huron
On a workday 9,012 residents head out to work, 2,623 work right here, and 9,515 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 (1.04 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.
What work there is in Port Huron: 12,138 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Port Huron, 2011 → 2021: 16,091 → 12,138. 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 Port Huron’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where people from Port Huron work
Where Port Huron clocks in
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.
The trip to work from Port Huron: about 21 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Port Huron workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 12,019 commuters (the 6% 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.
Where in the region Port Huron works
About 29% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Port Huron
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Port Huron is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns, #45 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Port Huron 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 12,743 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). 12.2% of Port Huron households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Port Huron’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 20,000 to 38,000, and where Port Huron sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Northville Township MI | 31,399 | $151K | 3.1% | 2.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 61 | Oakland Township MI | 20,631 | $167K | 2.7% | 3.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 90 | Cascade Township MI | 20,201 | $136K | 4.6% | 2.6% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,372 | Muskogee OK | 36,760 | $50K | 24.1% | 6.7% | 47% | D |
| 1,373 | Goldsboro NC | 35,012 | $49K | 22.8% | 8.0% | 30% | D |
| 1,374 | Port Huron MI | 28,273 | $50K | 22.6% | 8.9% | 23% | D |
| 1,375 | Sandusky OH | 24,001 | $50K | 25.6% | 7.8% | 25% | D |
| 1,376 | Texarkana AR | 29,123 | $46K | 25.8% | 7.5% | 27% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 1,409 | Barstow CA | 24,804 | $53K | 23.1% | 11.9% | 17% | 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 Port Huron, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
The towns next door employ 15% of Port Huron
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Port Huron workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Port Huron | – | D | A | 21 min | $50,366 |
| Port Huron Township | 4% | C+ | B− | 27 min | $61,983 |
| Fort Gratiot Township | 5% | B | C+ | 23 min | $87,165 |
| Marysville | 6% | B | C+ | 25 min | $66,901 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Marysville. Darker towns draw more of Port Huron’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 Port Huron: questions
What is the median household income in Port Huron?
$50,366 (±$3,208) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Port Huron?
22.6%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Port Huron?
21 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Port Huron work?
23% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Marysville (6%, 6 mi), Fort Gratiot Township (5%, 4 mi), Port Huron Township (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Port Huron walkable?
Port Huron is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 8.9 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Port Huron without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Port Huron, from the people who make the trip.
More of Port Huron
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.