Work & commute · Highland

Work & commute in Highland, MI

Most working residents leave Highland for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are Milford (5%), Detroit (5%) and Waterford (4%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

777 of 8,746 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

35 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 7,969 Highland residents head out of town to work, 777 work right here, and 3,714 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Highland.

7,969live here, work elsewhere

777live and work here

3,714work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Highland goes to work

Highland (in town)right here

9%777

Milford6.1 mi away

5%420

Detroit32.5 mi away

5%409

Waterford11.9 mi away

4%338

Southfield22.3 mi away

4%313

Farmington Hills17.1 mi away

4%307

Troy24.7 mi away

3%304

Novi14 mi away

3%301

Commerce8.5 mi away

3%286

Livonia21.9 mi away

3%264

Everywhere elseother towns and states

57%5,027

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

How far

How far Highland commutes

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

23%

46%

25%

23%Under 10 mi

46%10–24 mi

25%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Highland is a commuter town

0.51jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.51 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Highland are

4,491 jobs are based in Highland. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Highland’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Highland

4,491 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities40%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs Highland residents hold

8,746 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+42%

Jobs based in Highland, 2011 → 2021: 3,162 → 4,491. 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.