Photo: Lrgjr72 · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Royal Oak Township earn less than those in 90% of U.S. towns
Royal Oak Township grades C− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Below the poverty line: 26.8% of residents, against 13.2% across Michigan. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 7.2 in Detroit.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Royal Oak Township, in brief
Royal Oak Township and Detroit trade workers both ways
Detroit is the top workplace for Royal Oak Township residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Royal Oak Township come from (23% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
55% of the jobs in Royal Oak Township are in trade, transport and utilities, against 16% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Royal Oak Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Royal Oak Township went from 700 in 2011 to 1,011 in 2021, +44%. 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; with 861 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Royal Oak Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Royal Oak Township is better than 19% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Royal Oak Township’s grade up (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (30.3%, 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 three years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Royal Oak Township could be anywhere from C− to C.
21% of working residents work in Detroit
Where Royal Oak Township clocks in
7% of workers
5% 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 1,011 jobs based in Royal Oak Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Royal Oak Township, 2011 → 2021: 700 → 1,011. 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 Royal Oak Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Royal Oak Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 850 residents head out to work, 11 work right here, and 1,000 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 (1.17 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.
Getting to work from Royal Oak Township takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Royal Oak Township workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 637 commuters (the 16% 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.
Royal Oak 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Royal Oak Township
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Royal Oak Township is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, above the 3.8% across Michigan.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 756 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 83% 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). 17.0% of Royal Oak Township households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Royal Oak Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Royal Oak Township next to U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,100: 4,066th of 5,328 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 134 | Village of Grosse Pointe Shores MI | 2,533 | $190K | 2.7% | 3.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 216 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,064 | Webber Township IL | 2,095 | $59K | 13.4% | 5.4% | 3% | C− |
| 4,065 | Pleasant Run Township IN | 1,745 | $77K | 17.3% | 6.8% | 1% | C− |
| 4,066 | Royal Oak Township MI | 2,323 | $48K | 26.8% | 30.3% | 1% | C− |
| 4,067 | Sylvania AL | 1,853 | $56K | 10.6% | 5.4% | 1% | C− |
| 4,068 | Cambria IL | 1,796 | $58K | 18.5% | 5.2% | 5% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,328 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Royal Oak Township, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Royal Oak Township and its neighbors
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Royal Oak Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Oak Township | – | C− | A | 24 min | $47,679 |
| Oak Park | under 3% | C+ | B+ | 23 min | $71,510 |
| Ferndale | under 3% | A− | A− | 23 min | $94,640 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Royal Oak 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 Royal Oak Township: questions
What is the median household income in Royal Oak Township?
$47,679 (±$9,353) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Royal Oak Township?
26.8%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Royal Oak Township?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Royal Oak Township work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Detroit (21%, 6 mi), Southfield (7%, 5 mi), Warren (5%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Royal Oak Township walkable?
Royal Oak Township is more walkable than 89% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 15.1 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Royal Oak Township without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 17% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Royal Oak Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Royal Oak 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.