Work & commute · Grand Rapids

Work & commute in Grand Rapids, WI

Most working residents leave Grand Rapids for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Wisconsin Rapids (31%), Stevens Point (10%) and Plover (5%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

150 of 3,379 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 3,229 Grand Rapids residents head out of town to work, 150 work right here, and 844 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Grand Rapids.

3,229live here, work elsewhere

150live and work here

844work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Grand Rapids goes to work

Wisconsin Rapids3.7 mi away

31%1,035

Stevens Point14.2 mi away

10%341

Plover12.1 mi away

5%177

Grand Rapids (in town)right here

4%150

Wausau40.6 mi away

3%105

Marshfield28.4 mi away

2%78

Nekoosa8.9 mi away

2%70

Rothschild34.8 mi away

2%59

Biron3.4 mi away

2%56

Madison90.7 mi away

1%50

Everywhere elseother towns and states

37%1,258

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

How far

How far Grand Rapids commutes

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

42%

19%

12%

26%

42%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

26%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Grand Rapids 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 Grand Rapids are

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

Jobs based in Grand Rapids

994 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less23%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs Grand Rapids residents hold

3,379 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month60%

+1%

Jobs based in Grand Rapids, 2013 → 2023: 985 → 994. 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 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.