Work & commute · Delta

Work & commute in Delta, MI

Most working residents leave Delta for work: only 15% work in town. The top destinations are Lansing (29%), East Lansing (7%) and Meridian (3%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

15%

2,166 of 14,011 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

19%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 11,845 Delta residents head out of town to work, 2,166 work right here, and 20,665 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Delta.

11,845live here, work elsewhere

2,166live and work here

20,665work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Delta goes to work

Lansing5.2 mi away

29%4,024

Delta (in town)right here

15%2,166

East Lansing9.2 mi away

7%965

Meridian12.2 mi away

3%394

Grand Ledge4.6 mi away

3%357

Lansing3.7 mi away

2%336

Delhi9.6 mi away

2%258

Windsor6.4 mi away

2%243

Watertown6.1 mi away

1%180

Charlotte14.2 mi away

1%170

Everywhere elseother towns and states

35%4,918

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

How far

How far Delta commutes

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

62%

10%

19%

62%Under 10 mi

10%10–24 mi

9%25–50 mi

19%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Delta is a job hub

1.63jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Delta are

22,831 jobs are based in Delta. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Delta’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Delta

22,831 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities38%

Services (health, schools, offices…)56%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Delta residents hold

14,011 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)69%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+4%

Jobs based in Delta, 2011 → 2021: 22,055 → 22,831. 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.