More people are out of work in Woodhaven (7.2%) than in 84% of U.S. towns
Woodhaven grades B− for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Only 5% work in Woodhaven; the top destination outside it is Detroit (13%, 18 miles). The trip to work takes 24 minutes on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Woodhaven and work: the main findings
Woodhaven trades workers with the towns around it
Woodhaven has about as many jobs (5,425) as working residents (5,854), but they are mostly different people: 5,590 residents leave for work each day while 5,161 people come in. Only 5% of the jobs in Woodhaven are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
46% of the jobs in Woodhaven are in trade, transport and utilities, against 23% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Woodhaven draws workers from far and wide
The 5,425 jobs in Woodhaven are filled from a wide area. Woodhaven’s own residents hold 5% and the ten next-biggest home towns 36%; the other 59% 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.
How Woodhaven earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Woodhaven is better than 47% of U.S. towns, #421 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Woodhaven’s grade up (ahead of 86% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
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, Woodhaven could be anywhere from C to A−.
Who leaves Woodhaven for work, and who comes in
On a workday 5,590 residents head out to work, 264 work right here, and 5,161 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 (0.93 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 the 5,425 jobs in Woodhaven are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Woodhaven, 2011 → 2021: 5,920 → 5,425. 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 Woodhaven’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The places Woodhaven commutes to
Where Woodhaven clocks in
9% of workers
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.
Time on the road from Woodhaven: 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 Woodhaven workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,401 commuters (the 10% 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 Woodhaven
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 Woodhaven, work means a drive
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Woodhaven is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns, #292 of 701 in Michigan. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.1% 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 6,023 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). 2.6% of Woodhaven households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Woodhaven’s commuters take a bus or train.
Woodhaven places 1,509th of 2,354 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,507 | Zebulon NC | 11,933 | $79K | 9.0% | 7.1% | 6% | B− |
| 1,508 | Springfield Township OH | 14,240 | $66K | 8.5% | 7.0% | 5% | B− |
| 1,509 | Woodhaven MI | 12,503 | $79K | 13.0% | 7.2% | 5% | B− |
| 1,510 | Hartford VT | 10,911 | $78K | 11.1% | 4.0% | 25% | B− |
| 1,511 | Portland TN | 13,658 | $73K | 11.2% | 4.9% | 18% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Woodhaven, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Work in the towns next to Woodhaven
The biggest share goes to Brownstown Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Woodhaven workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodhaven | – | B− | C+ | 24 min | $78,648 |
| Trenton | under 3% | A− | B | 25 min | $82,212 |
| Brownstown Township | 3% | B+ | C+ | 25 min | $95,402 |
| Flat Rock | under 3% | B− | B | 29 min | $81,585 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Woodhaven’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 Woodhaven: questions
What is the median household income in Woodhaven?
$78,648 (±$12,938) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Woodhaven?
13.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Woodhaven?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Woodhaven work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Detroit (13%, 18 mi), Dearborn (9%, 12 mi), Taylor (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Woodhaven walkable?
Woodhaven is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Woodhaven without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Woodhaven, from the people who make the trip.
More of Woodhaven
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.