Work & commute · Plainwell

Work & commute in Plainwell, MI

Most working residents leave Plainwell for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Kalamazoo (12%), Portage (6%) and Allegan (6%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

98 of 1,756 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

21 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 1,658 Plainwell residents head out of town to work, 98 work right here, and 1,635 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Plainwell.

1,658live here, work elsewhere

98live and work here

1,635work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Plainwell goes to work

Kalamazoo12.2 mi away

12%217

Portage17.5 mi away

6%103

Allegan11.6 mi away

6%102

Plainwell (in town)right here

6%98

Gun Plain2.8 mi away

5%84

Kalamazoo9.3 mi away

3%60

Otsego3 mi away

3%59

Grand Rapids35.5 mi away

3%54

Otsego5 mi away

3%47

Oshtemo11.5 mi away

3%46

Everywhere elseother towns and states

50%886

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

How far

How far Plainwell commutes

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

22%

41%

21%

17%

22%Under 10 mi

41%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Plainwell is balanced between jobs and homes

0.99jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.99 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Plainwell are

1,733 jobs are based in Plainwell. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Plainwell’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Plainwell

1,733 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)51%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month48%

Jobs Plainwell residents hold

1,756 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)29%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)50%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+73%

Jobs based in Plainwell, 2011 → 2021: 1,003 → 1,733. 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.