Work & commute · Grand Rapids

Work & commute in Grand Rapids, IL

Most working residents leave Grand Rapids for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Ottawa (11%), Marseilles (9%) and Seneca (4%). Half commute less than 18 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

2 of 140 working residents

Typical commute

18 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 138 Grand Rapids residents head out of town to work, 2 work right here, and 35 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Grand Rapids.

138live here, work elsewhere

2live and work here

35work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Grand Rapids goes to work

Ottawa8.7 mi away

11%16

Marseilles7.1 mi away

9%12

Seneca8.8 mi away

4%6

LaSalle18.8 mi away

4%5

Chicago69.3 mi away

3%4

Streator8.6 mi away

2%3

Peru21.3 mi away

2%3

New Lenox45.1 mi away

2%3

Aurora43.7 mi away

2%3

Brookfield5.7 mi away

2%3

Everywhere elseother towns and states

59%82

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

How far

How far Grand Rapids commutes

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

36%

22%

13%

29%

36%Under 10 mi

22%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

29%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Grand Rapids is a commuter town

0.26jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Grand Rapids are

37 jobs are based in Grand Rapids. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Grand Rapids’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Grand Rapids

37 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)46%

Trade, transport & utilities3%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less43%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month35%

Jobs Grand Rapids residents hold

140 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month63%

−24%

Jobs based in Grand Rapids, 2013 → 2023: 49 → 37. 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 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.