Work & commute · Otsego

Work & commute in Otsego, MI

Most working residents leave Otsego for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Kalamazoo (9%), Allegan (7%) and Portage (6%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

123 of 1,814 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 1,691 Otsego residents head out of town to work, 123 work right here, and 1,437 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Otsego.

1,691live here, work elsewhere

123live and work here

1,437work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Otsego goes to work

Kalamazoo13.8 mi away

9%169

Allegan8.8 mi away

7%126

Otsego (in town)right here

7%123

Portage18.8 mi away

6%102

Plainwell3 mi away

4%69

Otsego2 mi away

4%69

Kalamazoo10.8 mi away

3%59

Gun Plain5.6 mi away

3%58

Grand Rapids34.8 mi away

3%55

Oshtemo11.8 mi away

2%44

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%940

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

How far

How far Otsego commutes

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

29%

35%

21%

16%

29%Under 10 mi

35%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Otsego is balanced between jobs and homes

0.86jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.86 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Otsego are

1,560 jobs are based in Otsego. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Otsego’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Otsego

1,560 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)51%

Trade, transport & utilities8%

Services (health, schools, offices…)41%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Otsego residents hold

1,814 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month55%

−11%

Jobs based in Otsego, 2011 → 2021: 1,758 → 1,560. 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.