Work & commute · Polkton

Work & commute in Polkton, MI

Most working residents leave Polkton for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Grand Rapids (14%), Coopersville (6%) and Allendale (4%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

82 of 1,222 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

14%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,140 Polkton residents head out of town to work, 82 work right here, and 270 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Polkton.

1,140live here, work elsewhere

82live and work here

270work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Polkton goes to work

Grand Rapids17.7 mi away

14%176

Polkton (in town)right here

7%82

Coopersville2 mi away

6%69

Allendale6.4 mi away

4%54

Walker12.1 mi away

4%53

Kentwood23.1 mi away

4%44

Grandville16.2 mi away

3%40

Wyoming18.3 mi away

3%40

Muskegon17.9 mi away

3%35

Cascade27.1 mi away

3%33

Everywhere elseother towns and states

49%596

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

How far

How far Polkton commutes

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

23%

59%

12%

23%Under 10 mi

59%10–24 mi

5%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Polkton is a commuter town

0.29jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Polkton are

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

Jobs based in Polkton

352 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)72%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)16%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month58%

Jobs Polkton residents hold

1,222 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)33%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+130%

Jobs based in Polkton, 2011 → 2021: 153 → 352. 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.