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Work & commute in Pleasant Ridge · A commuter town

98% of Pleasant Ridge’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Pleasant Ridge for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Detroit (17%), Troy (8%) and Royal Oak (6%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Work in town
2%
32 of 1,296 working residents
Typical commute
10 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
25 min
More than MI (24 min)
Work from home
31%
More than MI (14%)
Jobs based here
407
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Pleasant Ridge?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

17% of working residents work in Detroit

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Pleasant RidgeFerndale: 54 residents work here (4%)Oak ParkSt. Clair ShoresRoyal Oak: 84 residents work here (6%)Auburn Hills: 36 residents work here (3%)Southfield: 77 residents work here (6%)Dearborn: 60 residents work here (5%)Warren: 71 residents work here (5%)Sterling HeightsTroy: 110 residents work here (8%)Livonia: 29 residents work here (2%)Rochester HillsDetroit: 223 residents work here (17%)DetroitTroyRoyal OakSouthfieldWarrenDearbornPleasant Ridge
1
Detroit6.5 mi away
17%223
2
Troy7.8 mi away
8%110
3
Royal Oak2.6 mi away
6%84
4
Southfield5.9 mi away
6%77
5
Warren6.3 mi away
5%71
6
Dearborn11.5 mi away
5%60
7
Ferndale1.1 mi away
4%54
8
Auburn Hills14.9 mi away
3%36
9
Pleasant Ridge (in town)right here
2%32
10
Livonia12.7 mi away
2%29
Everywhere elseother towns and states
40%520
The top trips

Where Pleasant Ridge clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Time on the road

About 25 minutes each way, about the MI average

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
189 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Pleasant Ridge25 min
Michigan24 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
31%

of Pleasant Ridge workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.

About 3 in 10

How Pleasant Ridge ranks on commute time →

Day and night

Pleasant Ridge quiets down on a workday

On a workday 1,264 residents head out to work, 32 work right here, and 375 people come in from elsewhere.

1,264live here, work elsewhere
32live and work here
375work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night2,600
Workday1,700
2,600live here− 1,300head out to work+ 380come in to work= 1,700on a workday

About 1,700 people are in Pleasant Ridge on a workday afternoon, 34% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.31jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.31 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.

How far

Half of Pleasant Ridge commutes less than 10 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi30 miDetroit: 17% · 6.5 miTroy: 8% · 7.8 miRoyal Oak: 6% · 2.6 miSouthfield: 6% · 5.9 miWarren: 5% · 6.3 miDearborn: 5% · 11.5 miFerndale: 4% · 1.1 miAuburn Hills: 3% · 14.9 miLivonia: 2% · 12.7 miDetroit 17%Troy 8%Royal Oak 6%Southfield 6%Warren 5%Pleasant Ridge
Pleasant RidgeTop destinations (size = commuters)
53%Under 10 mi681 residents
38%10–24 mi485 residents
4%25–50 mi51 residents
6%Over 50 mi76 residents

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2021.

The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

407 jobs are based in Pleasant Ridge. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Pleasant Ridge’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Pleasant RidgeJobs Pleasant Ridge residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms3%15%
Trade, transport & utilities5%13%
Services: health, schools, offices92%72%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less14%9%
$1,251–$3,333 a month21%15%
Over $3,333 a month65%76%

Who does it

29 or younger20%15%
30 to 5458%60%
55 and older22%26%
−25%

Jobs based in Pleasant Ridge, 2011 → 2021: 540 → 407. 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.

Next door

Pleasant Ridge and the towns next door

The biggest share goes to Ferndale (4%). Darker towns draw more of Pleasant Ridge’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2021. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Pleasant Ridge

Pleasant Ridge home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Pleasant Ridge, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
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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.

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