Work & commute · Merrill

Work & commute in Merrill, MI

Most working residents leave Merrill for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Big Rapids (10%), Grand Rapids (5%) and White Cloud (4%). Half commute less than 40 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

2 of 239 working residents

Typical commute

40 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

34 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 237 Merrill residents head out of town to work, 2 work right here, and 20 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Merrill.

237live here, work elsewhere

2live and work here

20work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Merrill goes to work

Big Rapids19.7 mi away

10%23

Grand Rapids51.1 mi away

5%12

White Cloud10 mi away

4%9

Reed City22.6 mi away

3%8

Fremont15.7 mi away

3%8

Lilley6.1 mi away

3%8

Wyoming55.4 mi away

3%7

Big Rapids18.7 mi away

3%6

Grandville54.4 mi away

2%5

Holland64.2 mi away

2%4

Everywhere elseother towns and states

62%149

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

How far

How far Merrill commutes

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

33%

19%

40%

8%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

40%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Merrill is a commuter town

0.09jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Merrill are

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

Jobs based in Merrill

22 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less59%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month14%

Jobs Merrill residents hold

239 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month52%

+175%

Jobs based in Merrill, 2011 → 2021: 8 → 22. 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.