Work & commute · Mecosta

Work & commute in Mecosta, MI

Most working residents leave Mecosta for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Big Rapids (19%), Grand Rapids (9%) and Big Rapids (6%). Half commute less than 34 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

30 of 1,002 working residents

Typical commute

34 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 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 972 Mecosta residents head out of town to work, 30 work right here, and 477 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Mecosta.

972live here, work elsewhere

30live and work here

477work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Mecosta goes to work

Big Rapids6.7 mi away

19%192

Grand Rapids45.1 mi away

9%88

Big Rapids5.2 mi away

6%57

Mecosta (in town)right here

3%30

Wyoming50.4 mi away

2%23

Reed City18.5 mi away

2%22

Aetna6 mi away

2%21

Kentwood49.9 mi away

2%18

Walker43.9 mi away

2%16

Evart23.4 mi away

1%15

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%520

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

How far

How far Mecosta commutes

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

33%

11%

30%

26%

33%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

30%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Mecosta is a commuter town

0.51jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.51 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Mecosta are

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

Jobs based in Mecosta

507 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities62%

Services (health, schools, offices…)28%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Mecosta residents hold

1,002 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)25%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month54%

+234%

Jobs based in Mecosta, 2011 → 2021: 152 → 507. 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.