Work & commute · Boston

Work & commute in Boston, MI

Most working residents leave Boston for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Grand Rapids (13%), Cascade (7%) and Kentwood (6%). Half commute less than 19 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

148 of 2,722 working residents

Typical commute

19 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,574 Boston residents head out of town to work, 148 work right here, and 1,116 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Boston.

2,574live here, work elsewhere

148live and work here

1,116work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Boston goes to work

Grand Rapids20.9 mi away

13%362

Cascade12.1 mi away

7%203

Kentwood17.2 mi away

6%150

Boston (in town)right here

5%148

Wyoming23 mi away

4%119

Ada13.2 mi away

4%118

Ionia10.7 mi away

4%109

Lowell5.6 mi away

4%105

Lansing37.2 mi away

3%72

Caledonia14 mi away

2%60

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%1,276

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

How far

How far Boston commutes

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

19%

52%

15%

14%

19%Under 10 mi

52%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Boston is a commuter town

0.46jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Boston are

1,264 jobs are based in Boston. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Boston’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Boston

1,264 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)68%

Trade, transport & utilities7%

Services (health, schools, offices…)25%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month58%

Jobs Boston residents hold

2,722 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)52%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month59%

+27%

Jobs based in Boston, 2011 → 2021: 998 → 1,264. 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.