Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0Saline has higher unemployment (6.3%) than 77% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Saline B+; getting around on foot earns it C+. 23% of workers have no commute at all, against 14% across Michigan. About one in ten stay in Saline for work; outside it, Ann Arbor is the main destination (25%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Saline
Why Saline gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Saline is better than 66% of U.S. towns, #267 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Saline’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
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, Saline could be anywhere from B− to A.
The trip to work from Saline: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Saline workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,352 commuters (the 23% 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.
How many people are in Saline by day
On a workday 3,468 residents head out to work, 430 work right here, and 4,280 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 (1.21 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.
Where people from Saline work
Where Saline clocks in
25% of workers
8% of workers
3% 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.
32% of the jobs in Saline make or build things
4,710 jobs are based in Saline.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Saline, 2011 → 2021: 4,641 → 4,710. 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 Saline’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Saline
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 of Saline commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Saline is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns, #295 of 701 in Michigan. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below 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 4,360 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). 8.1% of Saline households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Saline’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Saline is 1,263rd of 2,891 U.S. towns of 6,300 to 12,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 4 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Jamestown Township MI | 10,702 | $120K | 2.8% | 1.1% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,261 | Conewago Township PA | 8,075 | $89K | 4.6% | 5.4% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,262 | Claymont DE | 8,786 | $75K | 10.0% | 3.2% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,263 | Saline MI | 9,001 | $88K | 5.8% | 6.3% | 11% | B+ |
| 1,264 | Carver MA | 11,981 | $91K | 7.5% | 4.4% | 7% | B+ |
| 1,265 | Belle Isle FL | 7,688 | $105K | 11.6% | 5.5% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,891 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Saline, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door to Saline
The biggest share goes to Pittsfield Township (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Saline workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saline | – | B+ | C+ | 28 min | $88,346 |
| Lodi Township | under 2% | A | C− | 22 min | $137,727 |
| Saline Township | under 2% | A− | C− | 22 min | $102,500 |
| Pittsfield Township | 8% | A− | A− | 22 min | $102,463 |
| York Township | under 2% | A | C− | 28 min | $136,909 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Saline’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 Saline: questions
What is the median household income in Saline?
$88,346 (±$12,539) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Saline?
5.8%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Saline?
28 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Saline work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ann Arbor (25%, 7 mi), Pittsfield Township (8%, 4 mi), Ann Arbor Township (3%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Saline walkable?
Saline is more walkable than 44% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Saline without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Saline, from the people who make the trip.
More of Saline
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.