Photo: Gpwitteveen · CC BY-SA 3.0Grand Haven has 1.8 jobs for every working resident: 7,647 people commute in to work
About one in five stay in Grand Haven for work; outside it, Grand Rapids is the main destination (7%, 29 miles). There are 8,730 jobs in Grand Haven; 4,850 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Grand Haven B; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Grand Haven, in brief
Grand Haven is where the jobs are
Grand Haven has 8,730 jobs, 1.8 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Grand Haven are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker, and quicker than any town next door (21 to 23 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; 2021 is the newest year Michigan has published.
Why Grand Haven gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Grand Haven is better than 56% of U.S. towns, #351 of 701 in Michigan. Unemployment holds Grand Haven’s grade up (1.8%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($60,669, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is three years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Grand Haven could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
The workday shuffle in and out of Grand Haven
On a workday 3,767 residents head out to work and 1,083 work right here.
About 15,000 people are in Grand Haven on a workday afternoon, 35% more than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
About 17 minutes each way, quicker than most of Michigan
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Grand Haven workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,610 commuters (the 11% who work from home are left out). Across Michigan: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where the people who work in Grand Haven live
Where Grand Haven clocks in
7% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Goods jobs make up 30% of work in Grand Haven
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Grand Haven, 2011 → 2021: 9,895 → 8,730. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2021.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Grand Haven’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Grand Haven goes to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2021.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Grand Haven is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Grand Haven is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns, #42 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Grand Haven near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,180 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.1% of Grand Haven households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Grand Haven’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Grand Haven is 1,383rd of 2,507 U.S. towns of 8,000 to 15,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,381 | Gardnerville Ranchos NV | 12,114 | $88K | 9.5% | 2.1% | 5% | B |
| 1,382 | Old Forge PA | 8,640 | $72K | 7.4% | 5.5% | 10% | B |
| 1,383 | Grand Haven MI | 11,038 | $61K | 14.5% | 1.8% | 22% | B |
| 1,384 | Clay Township OH | 8,910 | $76K | 7.8% | 5.4% | 12% | B |
| 1,385 | Soquel CA | 10,679 | $119K | 9.7% | 7.6% | 7% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,507 | Roma TX | 11,543 | $25K | 37.1% | 12.4% | 19% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Grand Haven, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door is work for 11% of Grand Haven
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Grand Haven workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Haven | – | B | A | 17 min | $60,669 |
| Grand Haven Township | 7% | A | C | 21 min | $99,592 |
| Spring Lake | under 3% | A− | A− | 23 min | $88,365 |
| Spring Lake Township | 4% | A | C | 23 min | $97,451 |
| Ferrysburg | under 3% | A− | C− | 21 min | $70,400 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Grand Haven Township. Darker towns draw more of Grand Haven’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2021, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Grand Haven: questions
What is the median household income in Grand Haven?
$60,669 (±$5,523) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Grand Haven?
14.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Grand Haven?
17 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Grand Haven work?
22% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (7%, 29 mi), Grand Haven Township (7%, 4 mi), Muskegon (6%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Grand Haven walkable?
Grand Haven is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.0 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Grand Haven without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Grand Haven, from the people who make the trip.
More of Grand Haven
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2021, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.