Work & commute · Grand Haven

Work & commute in Grand Haven, MI

About one in 5 of Grand Haven’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Grand Rapids (7%), Grand Haven (7%) and Muskegon (6%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

22%

1,083 of 4,850 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

17 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 3,767 Grand Haven residents head out of town to work, 1,083 work right here, and 7,647 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Grand Haven.

3,767live here, work elsewhere

1,083live and work here

7,647work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Grand Haven goes to work

Grand Haven (in town)right here

22%1,083

Grand Rapids29.2 mi away

7%336

Grand Haven4.2 mi away

7%323

Muskegon12 mi away

6%307

Holland17.7 mi away

4%198

Holland20.8 mi away

4%196

Spring Lake1.3 mi away

4%190

Norton Shores7.9 mi away

4%172

Olive12.9 mi away

3%124

Zeeland19.6 mi away

3%122

Everywhere elseother towns and states

37%1,799

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

How far

How far Grand Haven commutes

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

41%

27%

20%

12%

41%Under 10 mi

27%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Grand Haven is a job hub

1.80jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Grand Haven are

8,730 jobs are based in Grand Haven. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Grand Haven’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Grand Haven

8,730 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Grand Haven residents hold

4,850 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month54%

−12%

Jobs based in Grand Haven, 2011 → 2021: 9,895 → 8,730. 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.