Work & commute · Ada

Work & commute in Ada, MI

Most working residents leave Ada for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Grand Rapids (25%), Cascade (8%) and Kentwood (8%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10%

606 of 6,138 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

17%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 5,532 Ada residents head out of town to work, 606 work right here, and 6,383 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ada.

5,532live here, work elsewhere

606live and work here

6,383work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ada goes to work

Grand Rapids8.7 mi away

25%1,544

Ada (in town)right here

10%606

Cascade5.8 mi away

8%517

Kentwood8.7 mi away

8%509

Grand Rapids4.6 mi away

4%253

Wyoming12.9 mi away

4%245

Walker13.7 mi away

2%150

Plainfield8.9 mi away

2%132

East Grand Rapids6.5 mi away

2%115

Grandville14.6 mi away

1%75

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%1,992

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

How far

How far Ada commutes

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

61%

19%

14%

61%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ada is balanced between jobs and homes

1.14jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.14 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ada are

6,989 jobs are based in Ada. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ada’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ada

6,989 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)36%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month72%

Jobs Ada residents hold

6,138 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month18%

Over $3,333 a month69%

+10%

Jobs based in Ada, 2011 → 2021: 6,376 → 6,989. 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.