Wolcott Mill · Photo: Andrew Jameson · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Ray Township (0.9%) than in 95% of U.S. towns
Only 5% work in Ray Township; the top destination outside it is Sterling Heights (8%, 14 miles). Ray Township grades A for jobs and income and D for walkability. Measured by household income, Ray Township is ahead of 87% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Ray Township and work: the main findings
Ray Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 33 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 253 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Ray Township is a place people come home to
There are 386 jobs based in Ray Township, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Ray Township has about 2,600 people in it, 33% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Ray Township’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Ray Township is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #46 of 701 in Michigan. Unemployment is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 68% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and 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 two years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ray Township could be anywhere from A− to A+.
The daily trip from Ray Township: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ray Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,535 commuters (the 14% 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 works in Ray Township, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,577 residents head out to work, 87 work right here, and 299 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,600 people are in Ray Township on a workday afternoon, 33% fewer than live here.
0.23 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
Where the trip to work from Ray Township ends
Where Ray Township clocks in
8% of workers
7% 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.
In Ray Township, 31% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
386 jobs are based in Ray Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ray Township, 2011 → 2021: 409 → 386. 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 Ray Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Ray Township’s 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 Ray Township start in a car
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,780 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). 3.2% of Ray Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Ray Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Ray Township is 317th among 4,264 U.S. towns of 2,700 to 5,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Franklin MI | 3,134 | $194K | 2.8% | 2.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 114 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 118 | Ann Arbor Township MI | 4,506 | $165K | 7.2% | 0.5% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 315 | Circle Pines MN | 4,967 | $102K | 3.6% | 3.6% | 1% | A |
| 316 | Pennsburg PA | 4,036 | $112K | 6.7% | 1.7% | 6% | A |
| 317 | Ray Township MI | 3,848 | $118K | 6.4% | 0.9% | 5% | A |
| 318 | Bennington Township MI | 3,105 | $101K | 3.7% | 0.0% | 1% | A |
| 319 | Marilla NY | 5,119 | $93K | 2.7% | 1.5% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,264 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Ray Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door to Ray Township
The biggest share goes to Washington Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ray Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Township | – | A | D | 33 min | $117,917 |
| Lenox Township | under 4% | B | B− | 32 min | $72,484 |
| Washington Township | 4% | A− | C | 30 min | $97,723 |
| Macomb Township | under 4% | A | B− | 29 min | $120,652 |
| Armada Township | under 4% | A | C | 29 min | $105,734 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ray Township’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 Ray Township: questions
What is the median household income in Ray Township?
$117,917 (±$20,651) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ray Township?
6.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ray Township?
33 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ray Township work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Sterling Heights (8%, 14 mi), Troy (7%, 17 mi), Clinton Township (7%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Ray Township walkable?
Ray Township is more walkable than 8% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 5.1 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ray Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ray Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ray Township
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.