Photo: ajay_suresh · CC BY 2.0At 8.0%, unemployment in Warren is higher than in 88% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 25 minutes each way (Michigan 24, U.S. 26). The two grades for Warren are C+ for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in seven work in Warren itself; outside it, Detroit draws the most (12%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Warren, in brief
Warren has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Warren went from 54,301 in 2011 to 94,565 in 2021, +74%. The jobs ↓
Warren is where the jobs are
Warren has 94,565 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
The jobs in Warren pay better than its residents’ jobs
68% of the jobs based in Warren pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 52% of the jobs Warren residents hold. 92% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Warren. The jobs ↓
Warren draws workers from far and wide
The 94,565 jobs in Warren are filled from a wide area. Warren’s own residents hold 8% and the ten next-biggest home towns 36%; the other 56% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Warren
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Warren is better than 38% of U.S. towns, #499 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Warren’s grade up (ahead of 95% 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 fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Warren could be anywhere from C to C+.
68% of the jobs in Warren pay over $3,333 a month
94,565 jobs are based in Warren.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Warren, 2011 → 2021: 54,301 → 94,565. 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 Warren’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Warren fills up on a workday
On a workday 46,637 residents head out to work, 8,037 work right here, and 86,528 people come in from elsewhere.
About 177,000 people are in Warren on a workday afternoon, 29% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Commuting in to Warren: where workers come from
Where Warren clocks in
8% of workers
6% 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 trip to work from Warren: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Warren workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 55,980 commuters (the 13% 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 Warren 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.
Getting around Warren: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Warren is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns, #158 of 701 in Michigan. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.3% 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 64,172 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 10% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 2% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 51% 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). 7.0% of Warren households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Warren’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Warren places 204th of 268 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 96,000 to 185,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 2 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Fishers IN | 104,812 | $130K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 14% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 14 | Canton Township MI | 99,714 | $121K | 5.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Ann Arbor MI | 122,233 | $82K | 23.8% | 3.9% | 48% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 141 | Clinton Township MI | 101,374 | $74K | 10.6% | 5.2% | 11% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 202 | Miami Gardens FL | 113,579 | $64K | 13.6% | 9.0% | 6% | C+ |
| 203 | Greeley CO | 115,073 | $70K | 15.1% | 5.6% | 33% | C+ |
| 204 | Warren MI | 137,138 | $64K | 14.8% | 8.0% | 15% | C+ |
| 205 | Palm Coast FL | 109,886 | $77K | 10.6% | 4.5% | 17% | C+ |
| 206 | Norman OK | 130,943 | $68K | 16.8% | 5.7% | 31% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 268 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Warren, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
21% of Warren works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Warren workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warren | – | C+ | B+ | 25 min | $64,016 |
| Eastpointe | under 3% | C | A | 26 min | $62,325 |
| Roseville | under 3% | C+ | B | 26 min | $62,182 |
| Detroit | 12% | C− | A+ | 25 min | $39,938 |
| Madison Heights | 3% | B+ | A− | 25 min | $69,503 |
| Hazel Park | under 3% | B− | A− | 25 min | $67,073 |
| Sterling Heights | 6% | B | B− | 25 min | $79,909 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Detroit. Darker towns draw more of Warren’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 Warren: questions
What is the median household income in Warren?
$64,016 (±$2,638) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Warren?
14.8%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Warren?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Warren work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Detroit (12%, 9 mi), Troy (8%, 9 mi), Sterling Heights (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Warren walkable?
Warren is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Warren without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 2% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Warren, from the people who make the trip.
More of Warren
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.