Work & commute · Columbus

Work & commute in Columbus, MI

Most working residents leave Columbus for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Detroit (6%), Warren (5%) and Richmond (4%). Half commute less than 26 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

43 of 1,890 working residents

Typical commute

26 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,847 Columbus residents head out of town to work, 43 work right here, and 273 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Columbus.

1,847live here, work elsewhere

43live and work here

273work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Columbus goes to work

Detroit39.2 mi away

6%112

Warren30.7 mi away

5%87

Richmond4.9 mi away

4%84

Port Huron15.7 mi away

4%83

Clinton22.1 mi away

4%83

Chesterfield13.9 mi away

4%79

Auburn Hills31.2 mi away

4%69

Troy30.2 mi away

3%59

Mount Clemens20.7 mi away

3%55

Sterling Heights26.1 mi away

2%46

Everywhere elseother towns and states

60%1,133

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

How far

How far Columbus commutes

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

15%

34%

37%

14%

15%Under 10 mi

34%10–24 mi

37%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Columbus is a commuter town

0.17jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Columbus are

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

Jobs based in Columbus

316 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)41%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less25%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Columbus residents hold

1,890 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month58%

−60%

Jobs based in Columbus, 2011 → 2021: 788 → 316. 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.