Work & commute · Walker

Work & commute in Walker, MI

Most working residents leave Walker for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Grand Rapids (28%), Wyoming (7%) and Kentwood (5%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2021 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

1,216 of 11,292 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 10,076 Walker residents head out of town to work, 1,216 work right here, and 22,774 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Walker.

10,076live here, work elsewhere

1,216live and work here

22,774work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Walker goes to work

Grand Rapids5.6 mi away

28%3,117

Walker (in town)right here

11%1,216

Wyoming7.8 mi away

7%767

Kentwood11.3 mi away

5%556

Cascade15 mi away

4%443

Grandville6.6 mi away

4%413

Plainfield9.1 mi away

3%332

Grand Rapids9.2 mi away

2%215

Alpine5.8 mi away

2%205

Georgetown7.7 mi away

2%200

Everywhere elseother towns and states

34%3,828

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

How far

How far Walker commutes

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

60%

23%

13%

60%Under 10 mi

23%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Walker is a job hub

2.12jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.1 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Walker are

23,990 jobs are based in Walker. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Walker’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Walker

23,990 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)41%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)36%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month55%

Jobs Walker residents hold

11,292 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+39%

Jobs based in Walker, 2011 → 2021: 17,251 → 23,990. 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.