Work & commute · Ionia

Work & commute in Ionia, MI

Most working residents leave Ionia for work: only 17% work in town. The top destinations are Grand Rapids (7%), Lansing (5%) and Ionia (4%). Half commute less than 28 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

17%

596 of 3,454 working residents

Typical commute

28 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 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 2,858 Ionia residents head out of town to work, 596 work right here, and 4,081 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Ionia.

2,858live here, work elsewhere

596live and work here

4,081work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Ionia goes to work

Ionia (in town)right here

17%596

Grand Rapids29.4 mi away

7%241

Lansing31.7 mi away

5%161

Ionia3.5 mi away

4%127

Cascade21.8 mi away

3%101

Lowell14.1 mi away

3%93

Boston10.7 mi away

2%85

Kentwood27 mi away

2%65

Portland11.6 mi away

2%59

Ada20.8 mi away

2%58

Everywhere elseother towns and states

54%1,868

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

How far

How far Ionia commutes

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

26%

18%

32%

24%

26%Under 10 mi

18%10–24 mi

32%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Ionia is balanced between jobs and homes

1.35jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.35 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Ionia are

4,677 jobs are based in Ionia. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Ionia’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Ionia

4,677 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities2%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Ionia residents hold

3,454 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)30%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)53%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month51%

−9%

Jobs based in Ionia, 2011 → 2021: 5,144 → 4,677. 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.