Work & commute · Lawrence

Work & commute in Lawrence, MI

Most working residents leave Lawrence for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Paw Paw (6%), Kalamazoo (5%) and Portage (5%). Half commute less than 22 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

132 of 1,203 working residents

Typical commute

22 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

33 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 1,071 Lawrence residents head out of town to work, 132 work right here, and 986 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lawrence.

1,071live here, work elsewhere

132live and work here

986work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lawrence goes to work

Lawrence (in town)right here

11%132

Paw Paw5.4 mi away

6%70

Kalamazoo24 mi away

5%59

Portage23.3 mi away

5%55

Antwerp11.9 mi away

4%46

Benton18.8 mi away

3%42

Hartford6.1 mi away

2%29

Oshtemo18.5 mi away

2%29

Grand Rapids56.2 mi away

2%27

Hartford7.2 mi away

2%24

Everywhere elseother towns and states

57%690

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

How far

How far Lawrence commutes

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

25%

35%

19%

22%

25%Under 10 mi

35%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

22%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lawrence is balanced between jobs and homes

0.93jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.93 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Lawrence are

1,118 jobs are based in Lawrence. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lawrence’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lawrence

1,118 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)27%

Trade, transport & utilities6%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less7%

$1,251–$3,333 a month39%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Lawrence residents hold

1,203 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)28%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month33%

Over $3,333 a month51%

−19%

Jobs based in Lawrence, 2011 → 2021: 1,381 → 1,118. 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.