Joshua M. Cowen
Michigan State University
AUTHORS
Joshua M. Cowen, Michigan State University
Danielle Sanderson Edwards, Michigan State University
Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj, Seton Hall University
Missy Cosby, Michigan State University
A Research Report from EPIC
Motor City Miles: Student Travel to School in and Around Detroit
Published by the URBAN INSTUTUTE
October 11, 2018
This report analyzes distances to school and enrollment patterns for 113,806 Detroit students in the 2015-16 school year. On average, students live 7 to 12 minutes’ drive time from school, but black and Hispanic students travel farther than white and Asian students. Less than 25 percent of Detroit students attend the school nearest their home, but most attend a school that is higher quality than their nearest school. Over 75 percent of high-quality schools Detroit students could attend are located outside of city limits; about 19 percent of students, most of them white or Asian, attend schools outside the city.