Work & commute · Lansing

Work & commute in Lansing, MI

About one in 3 of Lansing’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are East Lansing (9%), Delta (8%) and Meridian (4%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

32%

13,705 of 43,180 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

15%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 29,475 Lansing residents head out of town to work, 13,705 work right here, and 71,881 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lansing.

29,475live here, work elsewhere

13,705live and work here

71,881work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lansing goes to work

Lansing (in town)right here

32%13,705

East Lansing4.6 mi away

9%3,676

Delta5.2 mi away

8%3,387

Meridian7.2 mi away

4%1,680

Delhi6.3 mi away

3%1,405

Lansing2.1 mi away

3%1,095

Detroit77.7 mi away

2%658

Alaiedon8.9 mi away

1%638

Mason11 mi away

1%611

Warren79.6 mi away

1%525

Everywhere elseother towns and states

37%15,800

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

How far

How far Lansing commutes

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

64%

24%

64%Under 10 mi

5%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

24%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lansing is a job hub

1.98jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Lansing are

85,586 jobs are based in Lansing. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lansing’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lansing

85,586 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities11%

Services (health, schools, offices…)77%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month57%

Jobs Lansing residents hold

43,180 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month49%

−11%

Jobs based in Lansing, 2011 → 2021: 95,962 → 85,586. 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.