Work & commute · Portage

Work & commute in Portage, MI

About one in 5 of Portage’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Kalamazoo (24%), Oshtemo (4%) and Kalamazoo (4%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

22%

4,458 of 20,071 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 15,613 Portage residents head out of town to work, 4,458 work right here, and 22,220 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Portage.

15,613live here, work elsewhere

4,458live and work here

22,220work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Portage goes to work

Kalamazoo5.4 mi away

24%4,884

Portage (in town)right here

22%4,458

Oshtemo8.6 mi away

4%838

Kalamazoo8.2 mi away

4%736

Texas5.9 mi away

3%566

Comstock8.9 mi away

3%540

Battle Creek19.8 mi away

3%514

Antwerp11.4 mi away

2%491

Schoolcraft5.9 mi away

2%411

Grand Rapids52.9 mi away

2%343

Everywhere elseother towns and states

31%6,290

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

How far

How far Portage commutes

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

65%

11%

17%

65%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Portage is balanced between jobs and homes

1.33jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.33 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Portage are

26,678 jobs are based in Portage. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Portage’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Portage

26,678 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)35%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Portage residents hold

20,071 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)60%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+14%

Jobs based in Portage, 2011 → 2021: 23,438 → 26,678. 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.