Work & commute · Battle Creek

Work & commute in Battle Creek, MI

About one in 3 of Battle Creek’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Emmett (5%), Kalamazoo (3%) and Bedford (3%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

37%

6,833 of 18,375 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 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 11,542 Battle Creek residents head out of town to work, 6,833 work right here, and 19,877 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Battle Creek.

11,542live here, work elsewhere

6,833live and work here

19,877work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Battle Creek goes to work

Battle Creek (in town)right here

37%6,833

Emmett6.2 mi away

5%998

Kalamazoo18.4 mi away

3%640

Bedford5.8 mi away

3%540

Marshall13.2 mi away

3%507

Springfield1.7 mi away

3%469

Portage19.8 mi away

2%458

Lansing44.5 mi away

2%338

Comstock12.3 mi away

1%270

Jackson42.3 mi away

1%256

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%7,066

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

How far

How far Battle Creek commutes

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

51%

16%

14%

19%

51%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

14%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Battle Creek is balanced between jobs and homes

1.45jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.45 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Battle Creek are

26,710 jobs are based in Battle Creek. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Battle Creek’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Battle Creek

26,710 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month59%

Jobs Battle Creek residents hold

18,375 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month49%

−9%

Jobs based in Battle Creek, 2011 → 2021: 29,239 → 26,710. 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.