Work & commute · Big Prairie

Work & commute in Big Prairie, MI

Most working residents leave Big Prairie for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Grand Rapids (12%), Newaygo (8%) and White Cloud (4%). Half commute less than 34 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

18 of 871 working residents

Typical commute

34 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

38 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 853 Big Prairie residents head out of town to work, 18 work right here, and 63 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Big Prairie.

853live here, work elsewhere

18live and work here

63work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Big Prairie goes to work

Grand Rapids38.2 mi away

12%105

Newaygo11.9 mi away

8%70

White Cloud9.2 mi away

4%31

Wyoming43.3 mi away

3%27

Plainfield30.3 mi away

3%27

Fremont18 mi away

3%23

Walker36.5 mi away

3%23

Big Rapids14.3 mi away

2%20

Big Prairie (in town)right here

2%18

Kentwood43.4 mi away

2%17

Everywhere elseother towns and states

59%510

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

How far

How far Big Prairie commutes

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

11%

25%

44%

20%

11%Under 10 mi

25%10–24 mi

44%25–50 mi

20%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Big Prairie is a commuter town

0.09jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Big Prairie are

81 jobs are based in Big Prairie. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Big Prairie’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Big Prairie

81 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities59%

Services (health, schools, offices…)20%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month47%

Over $3,333 a month42%

Jobs Big Prairie residents hold

871 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)33%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)47%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month50%

−63%

Jobs based in Big Prairie, 2011 → 2021: 218 → 81. 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.