Work & commute · Nelson

Work & commute in Nelson, MI

Most working residents leave Nelson for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Grand Rapids (20%), Cedar Springs (5%) and Plainfield (5%). Half commute less than 21 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

44 of 2,114 working residents

Typical commute

21 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

28 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 2,070 Nelson residents head out of town to work, 44 work right here, and 330 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Nelson.

2,070live here, work elsewhere

44live and work here

330work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Nelson goes to work

Grand Rapids22.1 mi away

20%428

Cedar Springs4.2 mi away

5%112

Plainfield14.1 mi away

5%105

Walker22.5 mi away

4%93

Wyoming27.7 mi away

4%93

Rockford9 mi away

4%89

Kentwood26.2 mi away

4%88

Cascade24.8 mi away

4%87

Nelson (in town)right here

2%44

Greenville12.9 mi away

2%42

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%933

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

How far

How far Nelson commutes

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

16%

50%

18%

17%

16%Under 10 mi

50%10–24 mi

18%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Nelson is a commuter town

0.18jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Nelson are

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

Jobs based in Nelson

374 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)33%

Trade, transport & utilities27%

Services (health, schools, offices…)40%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month47%

Jobs Nelson residents hold

2,114 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+23%

Jobs based in Nelson, 2011 → 2021: 303 → 374. 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.