Work & commute · Ann Arbor

Work & commute in Ann Arbor, MI

Most working residents leave Ann Arbor for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are Ann Arbor (38%), Pittsfield (4%) and Dearborn (4%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

159 of 1,854 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

24%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,695 Ann Arbor residents head out of town to work, 159 work right here, and 11,550 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ann Arbor.

1,695live here, work elsewhere

159live and work here

11,550work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ann Arbor goes to work

Ann Arbor3.9 mi away

38%705

Ann Arbor (in town)right here

9%159

Pittsfield8.1 mi away

4%70

Dearborn24.5 mi away

4%65

Detroit30.3 mi away

3%57

Livonia17 mi away

3%52

Ypsilanti6.5 mi away

2%32

Plymouth10.6 mi away

2%29

Farmington Hills19.6 mi away

1%26

Southfield24.4 mi away

1%24

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%635

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Ann Arbor commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

56%

19%

17%

56%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

17%25–50 mi

8%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ann Arbor is a job hub

6.32jobs per working resident

A job hub

6.3 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Ann Arbor are

11,709 jobs are based in Ann Arbor. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ann Arbor’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ann Arbor

11,709 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)3%

Trade, transport & utilities4%

Services (health, schools, offices…)92%

$1,250 a month or less6%

$1,251–$3,333 a month14%

Over $3,333 a month80%

Jobs Ann Arbor residents hold

1,854 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month14%

Over $3,333 a month76%

+223%

Jobs based in Ann Arbor, 2011 → 2021: 3,630 → 11,709. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2021. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2021, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.