Ypsilanti is a medium-sized city located in the state of Michigan. With a population of 19,732 people and 37 associated neighborhoods, Ypsilanti is the 65th largest community in Michigan.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Ypsilanti is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Ypsilanti is a city of professionals, service providers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Ypsilanti who work in food service (12.07%), sales jobs (11.20%), and teaching (10.83%). Also of interest is that Ypsilanti has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Of important note, Ypsilanti is also a city of artists. Ypsilanti has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Ypsilanti’s character. A relatively large number of people in Ypsilanti telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 13.56% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Ypsilanti is a small town with a large college student population. Because of this, there is a real youthful, hip vibe to the place, and much of the life in the town is centered on the college. This has helped Ypsilanti to buck the trend of other small towns that have suffered declining populations over the past 20 to 30 years. Spending by students, and faculty and staff jobs, are a big part of the local economy. Despite the fact that it is a small city, Ypsilanti has quite a few people who take public transportation – mostly the bus - for their daily commute to work. This helps to fill a real need in the city for affordable transportation.The education level of Ypsilanti ranks among the highest in the nation. Of the 25-and-older adult population in Ypsilanti, 44.01% have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical US community has just 21.84% of its adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree. The per capita income in Ypsilanti in 2022 was $30,863, which is middle income relative to Michigan and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $123,452 for a family of four. However, Ypsilanti contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Ypsilanti is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Ypsilanti home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Ypsilanti residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Ypsilanti include German, Irish, Italian, Polish, and English. The most common language spoken in Ypsilanti is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Arabic.
