Work & commute · Kentwood

Work & commute in Kentwood, MI

Most working residents leave Kentwood for work: only 14% work in town. The top destinations are Grand Rapids (24%), Cascade (11%) and Wyoming (9%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

14%

3,351 of 23,443 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 20,092 Kentwood residents head out of town to work, 3,351 work right here, and 45,852 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Kentwood.

20,092live here, work elsewhere

3,351live and work here

45,852work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Kentwood goes to work

Grand Rapids6.2 mi away

24%5,593

Kentwood (in town)right here

14%3,351

Cascade5.2 mi away

11%2,474

Wyoming5.8 mi away

9%2,108

Gaines5.6 mi away

3%659

Walker11.3 mi away

3%607

Byron8.3 mi away

2%519

Grandville8.1 mi away

2%479

Caledonia7.8 mi away

2%449

Grand Rapids7.5 mi away

2%395

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%6,809

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

How far

How far Kentwood commutes

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

70%

11%

13%

70%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Kentwood is a job hub

2.10jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Kentwood are

49,203 jobs are based in Kentwood. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Kentwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Kentwood

49,203 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month44%

Jobs Kentwood residents hold

23,443 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month54%

+15%

Jobs based in Kentwood, 2011 → 2021: 42,727 → 49,203. 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.