Work & commute · Ann Arbor

Work & commute in Ann Arbor, MI

48% of Ann Arbor’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Pittsfield (4%), Ann Arbor (3%) and Detroit (3%). Half commute less than 4 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

48%

17,313 of 36,135 working residents

Typical commute

4 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

29%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 18,822 Ann Arbor residents head out of town to work, 17,313 work right here, and 76,569 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ann Arbor.

18,822live here, work elsewhere

17,313live and work here

76,569work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ann Arbor goes to work

Ann Arbor (in town)right here

48%17,313

Pittsfield4.7 mi away

4%1,595

Ann Arbor3.9 mi away

3%1,141

Detroit33 mi away

3%1,140

Scio6 mi away

2%819

Plymouth13.8 mi away

2%555

Dearborn26.7 mi away

2%550

Livonia20.1 mi away

1%534

Southfield27.7 mi away

1%486

Ypsilanti6 mi away

1%477

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%11,525

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.

62%

11%

16%

11%

62%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

11%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ann Arbor is a job hub

2.60jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Ann Arbor are

93,882 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

93,882 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities8%

Services (health, schools, offices…)90%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month66%

Jobs Ann Arbor residents hold

36,135 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month68%

−13%

Jobs based in Ann Arbor, 2011 → 2021: 107,982 → 93,882. 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.