Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0A job hub: Portland has 3.0 jobs per working resident, and 3,530 people come in to work
Jobs and income earn Portland B; getting around on foot earns it C. 3,717 jobs are based in Portland; 1,236 of its residents have a job. About one in seven work in Portland; the top destination outside it is Delta Township (6%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Portland apart on work
Portland has far more jobs than workers
Portland has 3,717 jobs, 3.0 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 6,300 people are in town, 66% more than the 3,800 who live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Portland
56% of Portland residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 21% of the jobs based in Portland pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 85% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Portland pay little
40% of the jobs based in Portland pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Portland than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Portland fell from 6,979 in 2011 to 3,717 in 2021, −47%. 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.
Where Portland’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Portland is better than 65% of U.S. towns, #275 of 701 in Michigan. Unemployment holds Portland’s grade up (2.7%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($65,845, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is three years behind.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Portland could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Who works in Portland, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,049 residents head out to work and 187 work right here.
About 6,300 people are in Portland on a workday afternoon, 66% more 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.
Most jobs in Portland are in services
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Portland, 2011 → 2021: 6,979 → 3,717. 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 Portland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where Portland’s workforce comes from
Where Portland 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.
From Portland, about 28 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Portland workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,626 commuters (the 9% 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.
Miles to work from Portland
About 22% 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.
Driving is how Portland gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Portland is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns, #445 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Portland 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 1,796 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). 6.6% of Portland households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Portland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Portland next to U.S. towns of 2,600 to 5,100: 1,507th of 4,430 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 119 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 123 | Ann Arbor Township MI | 4,506 | $165K | 7.2% | 0.5% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,505 | Knowlton Township NJ | 2,947 | $98K | 3.5% | 7.0% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,506 | Freedom Township PA | 2,933 | $75K | 8.5% | 1.8% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,507 | Portland MI | 3,770 | $66K | 7.3% | 2.7% | 15% | B |
| 1,508 | Harrison Township IN | 3,447 | $68K | 3.9% | 4.3% | 5% | B |
| 1,509 | Valley Center Township KS | 5,036 | $61K | 6.1% | 3.2% | 10% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,430 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Portland, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
How Portland compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Portland Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Portland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland | – | B | C | 28 min | $65,845 |
| Portland Township | 4% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Danby Township | under 2% | A− | D | 24 min | $92,768 |
Same-state neighbors only. Portland Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Portland’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 Portland: questions
What is the median household income in Portland?
$65,845 (±$9,750) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Portland?
7.3%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Portland?
28 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Portland work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Delta Township (6%, 16 mi), Ionia (6%, 12 mi), Grand Rapids (5%, 39 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Portland walkable?
Portland is more walkable than 26% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Portland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Portland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Portland
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.