Photo: Matt Krajenke · Public domainUtica has 2.5 jobs for every working resident: 5,469 people commute in to work
There are 5,546 jobs in Utica, against 2,204 working residents. For jobs and income Utica is better than 73% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (B+). Measured by household income, Utica is behind 76% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Utica apart
Utica is where the jobs are
Utica has 5,546 jobs, 2.5 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 8,500 people are in town, 65% more than the 5,100 who live here. Day and night ↓
Utica has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Utica went from 3,442 in 2011 to 5,546 in 2021, +61%. The jobs ↓
Utica draws workers from far and wide
The 5,546 jobs in Utica are filled from a wide area. The ten biggest home towns of its workers supply 41%; the other 58% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
41% of the jobs in Utica are in trade, transport and utilities, against 20% of the jobs its residents hold. 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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Where Utica’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Job access by car holds Utica’s grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($58,718, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment.
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, Utica could be anywhere from B− to A.
The workday shuffle in and out of Utica
On a workday 2,127 residents head out to work and 77 work right here.
About 8,500 people are in Utica on a workday afternoon, 65% 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.
The kinds of work in Utica
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Utica, 2011 → 2021: 3,442 → 5,546. 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 Utica’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip into Utica
Where Utica clocks in
10% of workers
9% 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.
How long Utica spends getting to work: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Utica workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,361 commuters (the 11% 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 far Utica goes to work
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.
For most of Utica, work means a drive
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,650 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). 12.0% of Utica households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Utica’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,052nd of 3,627: where Utica ranks among U.S. towns of 3,600 to 6,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 128 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,050 | Lafayette WI | 6,430 | $102K | 2.7% | 4.9% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,051 | Winona Lake IN | 5,126 | $82K | 8.0% | 1.4% | 9% | B+ |
| 1,052 | Utica MI | 5,114 | $59K | 7.5% | 2.2% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,053 | Cottage Grove WI | 3,677 | $87K | 3.0% | 5.7% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,054 | South Monrovia Island CA | 6,830 | $104K | 7.2% | 6.9% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,627 | 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 Utica, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door is work for 17% of Utica
The biggest share goes to Sterling Heights (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Utica workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utica | – | B+ | B+ | 24 min | $58,718 |
| Shelby Township | 8% | A− | B− | 25 min | $91,012 |
| Sterling Heights | 9% | B | B− | 25 min | $79,909 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Utica’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 Utica: questions
What is the median household income in Utica?
$58,718 (±$6,785) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Utica?
7.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Utica?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Utica work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Troy (10%, 7 mi), Sterling Heights (9%, 3 mi), Shelby Township (8%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Utica walkable?
Utica is more walkable than 73% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Utica without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Utica, from the people who make the trip.
More of Utica
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.