Work & commute · Spencer

Work & commute in Spencer, MI

Most working residents leave Spencer for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Grand Rapids (16%), Greenville (7%) and Wyoming (5%). Half commute less than 24 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

31 of 1,719 working residents

Typical commute

24 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

35 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 1,688 Spencer residents head out of town to work, 31 work right here, and 89 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Spencer.

1,688live here, work elsewhere

31live and work here

89work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Spencer goes to work

Grand Rapids24.4 mi away

16%269

Greenville7.4 mi away

7%115

Wyoming29.9 mi away

5%81

Plainfield17.1 mi away

4%64

Kentwood27.4 mi away

4%63

Rockford12 mi away

3%59

Cedar Springs9.5 mi away

3%54

Walker26.1 mi away

3%50

Cascade24.8 mi away

3%47

Spencer (in town)right here

2%31

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%886

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

How far

How far Spencer commutes

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

16%

39%

28%

16%

16%Under 10 mi

39%10–24 mi

28%25–50 mi

16%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Spencer is a commuter town

0.07jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Spencer are

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

Jobs based in Spencer

120 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)45%

$1,250 a month or less33%

$1,251–$3,333 a month42%

Over $3,333 a month26%

Jobs Spencer residents hold

1,719 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)32%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)49%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month57%

−15%

Jobs based in Spencer, 2011 → 2021: 142 → 120. 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.