Photo: Csmith8504 · CC BY-SA 4.0At 7.4%, unemployment in Greenville is higher than in 85% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 5% of workers (Michigan 14%). The two grades for Greenville are C for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in five work in Greenville itself; outside it, Grand Rapids draws the most (13%, 25 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Greenville apart
Greenville’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Greenville is Grand Rapids, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 13% of working residents (457) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Greenville makes and builds things
38% of the jobs based in Greenville are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Greenville residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 30%. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Greenville pay little
27% of the jobs based in Greenville pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 32% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
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.
Where Greenville’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Greenville is better than 28% of U.S. towns, #562 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Greenville’s grade up (ahead of 50% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
The commuting and job counts on this page are Census LEHD 2021: Michigan reports later than other states, so its newest year is two years behind.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Greenville could be anywhere from D to B+.
How many miles Greenville commutes
About 16% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Making and building: 38% of jobs based in Greenville
4,845 jobs are based in Greenville.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Greenville, 2011 → 2021: 5,693 → 4,845. 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 Greenville’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Greenville
On a workday 2,966 residents head out to work, 642 work right here, and 4,203 people come in from elsewhere.
About 10,000 people are in Greenville on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.34 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2021, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Greenville ends
Where Greenville clocks in
3% 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.
Time on the road from Greenville: about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Greenville workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,809 commuters (the 5% 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.
Getting around Greenville: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Greenville is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #192 of 701 in Michigan. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.8% across Michigan.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,991 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.8% of Greenville households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Greenville’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Greenville is 2,242nd among 2,841 U.S. towns of 6,500 to 12,500
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Pimmit Hills VA | 6,589 | $173K | 1.6% | 1.3% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Braddock VA | 6,536 | $212K | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 4 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Jamestown Township MI | 10,702 | $120K | 2.8% | 1.1% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,240 | Webster City IA | 7,815 | $63K | 8.6% | 7.0% | 41% | C |
| 2,241 | Beacon Square FL | 7,895 | $57K | 15.6% | 5.8% | 1% | C |
| 2,242 | Greenville MI | 9,256 | $63K | 11.5% | 7.4% | 18% | C |
| 2,243 | Raceland LA | 9,585 | $60K | 13.8% | 6.0% | 5% | C |
| 2,244 | Ware MA | 10,128 | $67K | 11.8% | 9.2% | 15% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 2,841 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Greenville, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
The towns around Greenville
The biggest share goes to Eureka Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Greenville workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenville | – | C | B | 24 min | $63,285 |
| Eureka Township | 3% | A− | C | 27 min | $77,266 |
| Montcalm Township | under 3% | C | D− | 25 min | $71,293 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Greenville’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 Greenville: questions
What is the median household income in Greenville?
$63,285 (±$15,220) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Greenville?
11.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Greenville?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Greenville work?
18% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (13%, 25 mi), Cascade Township (3%, 23 mi), Eureka Township (3%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Greenville walkable?
Greenville is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Greenville without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Greenville, from the people who make the trip.
More of Greenville
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.