First Congregational Church · Photo: Howenstein115 14:59, 24 November 2008 (UTC) · CC BY 3.0Richmond has higher unemployment (11.5%) than 97% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Richmond C; getting around on foot earns it A−. Only 8% work in Richmond itself; outside it, Detroit draws the most (6%, 34 miles). Home is the office for 6% of workers, where Michigan as a whole has 14%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Richmond
Richmond trades workers with the towns around it
Richmond has about as many jobs (2,203) as working residents (2,465), but they are mostly different people: 2,272 residents leave for work each day while 2,010 people come in. Only 9% of the jobs in Richmond are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Richmond
61% of Richmond residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 33% of the jobs based in Richmond pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 92% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
No single place dominates Richmond’s commute
The biggest draw, Detroit, gets only 6% of working residents, and 54% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Richmond residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
46% of the jobs in Richmond are in trade, transport and utilities, against 20% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Richmond pay little
26% of the jobs based in Richmond pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 33% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. 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 drives the Jobs & income grade in Richmond
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Richmond is better than 26% of U.S. towns, #576 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Richmond’s grade up (ahead of 63% 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 rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Richmond could be anywhere from D to B+.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 2,272 residents head out to work, 193 work right here, and 2,010 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 (0.89 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 Richmond’s employers do
2,203 jobs are based in Richmond.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Richmond, 2011 → 2021: 1,680 → 2,203. 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 Richmond’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The places Richmond commutes to
Where Richmond clocks in
4% 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 daily trip from Richmond: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Richmond workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,316 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Richmond
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.
Richmond is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Richmond is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns, #75 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Richmond 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 2,471 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). 1.8% of Richmond households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Richmond’s commuters take a bus or train.
Richmond is 2,723rd of 3,494 U.S. towns of 4,100 to 8,000 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 117 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,721 | Vassalboro ME | 4,647 | $72K | 12.0% | 7.4% | 4% | C |
| 2,722 | Keyes CA | 5,577 | $65K | 23.5% | 7.0% | 3% | C |
| 2,723 | Richmond MI | 5,927 | $65K | 13.5% | 11.5% | 8% | C |
| 2,724 | Palacios TX | 4,370 | $53K | 19.2% | 1.3% | 11% | C |
| 2,725 | Patoka Township IN | 7,909 | $70K | 15.4% | 6.2% | 24% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,494 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 4% | 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 Richmond, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Richmond and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Richmond workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond | – | C | A− | 26 min | $64,719 |
| Lenox Township | under 3% | B | B− | 32 min | $72,484 |
| Richmond Township | under 3% | B | D | 32 min | $126,450 |
| Casco Township | under 3% | B | D | 28 min | $87,538 |
| Columbus Township | under 3% | A− | D | 30 min | $93,844 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Richmond’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 Richmond: questions
What is the median household income in Richmond?
$64,719 (±$11,850) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Richmond?
13.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Richmond?
26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Richmond work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Detroit (6%, 34 mi), Clinton Township (6%, 17 mi), Sterling Heights (4%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Richmond walkable?
Richmond is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.3 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Richmond without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Richmond, from the people who make the trip.
More of Richmond
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.