Work & commute · Benton

Work & commute in Benton, MI

About one in 5 of Benton’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are St. Joseph (8%), Lincoln (6%) and Grand Rapids (5%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

22%

1,076 of 4,949 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

18 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 3,873 Benton residents head out of town to work, 1,076 work right here, and 8,397 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Benton.

3,873live here, work elsewhere

1,076live and work here

8,397work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Benton goes to work

Benton (in town)right here

22%1,076

St. Joseph4.9 mi away

8%403

Lincoln8.9 mi away

6%307

Grand Rapids69.6 mi away

5%269

St. Joseph5.3 mi away

3%173

Benton Harbor2.6 mi away

3%171

Royalton6.8 mi away

3%138

Niles20.8 mi away

2%92

Lansing102.4 mi away

2%82

South Bend, IN30.9 mi away

1%71

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%2,167

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

How far

How far Benton commutes

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

50%

12%

11%

27%

50%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

11%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Benton is a job hub

1.91jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Benton are

9,473 jobs are based in Benton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Benton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Benton

9,473 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)54%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)28%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month63%

Jobs Benton residents hold

4,949 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month38%

Over $3,333 a month40%

+41%

Jobs based in Benton, 2011 → 2021: 6,720 → 9,473. 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.