Daniel Striker House · Photo: rossograph · CC BY-SA 4.0Hastings’ household incomes are lower than in 77% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Hastings is better than 39% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (B+). 12.5% of residents are in poverty; Michigan has 13.2%. About one in five work in Hastings itself; outside it, Grand Rapids draws the most (7%, 28 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Hastings apart
Hastings trades workers with the towns around it
Hastings has about as many jobs (3,619) as working residents (3,211), but they are mostly different people: 2,550 residents leave for work each day while 2,958 people come in. Only 18% of the jobs in Hastings are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Hastings than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Hastings fell from 4,904 in 2011 to 3,619 in 2021, −26%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. 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.
Hastings’ Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
Unemployment holds Hastings’ grade up (3.7%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($58,286, U.S. $80,734).
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 fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hastings could be anywhere from C− to B+.
How a workday changes Hastings
On a workday 2,550 residents head out to work, 661 work right here, and 2,958 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.13 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.
The kinds of work in Hastings
3,619 jobs are based in Hastings.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hastings, 2011 → 2021: 4,904 → 3,619. 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 Hastings’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The places Hastings commutes to
Where Hastings clocks in
Lines 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.
Commuting from Hastings: about 23 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hastings workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,056 commuters (the 10% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Hastings
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.
For most of Hastings, work means a drive
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,394 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). 5.2% of Hastings households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Hastings’ commuters take a bus or train.
Hastings is 2,124th of 3,125 U.S. towns of 5,200 to 10,100 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Grosse Pointe Farms MI | 9,735 | $161K | 2.5% | 1.9% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,122 | Kinderhook NY | 8,091 | $82K | 8.8% | 6.7% | 16% | C+ |
| 2,123 | Clinton IL | 6,781 | $62K | 14.5% | 3.7% | 30% | C+ |
| 2,124 | Hastings MI | 7,490 | $58K | 12.5% | 3.7% | 21% | C+ |
| 2,125 | Ghent NY | 5,210 | $82K | 16.4% | 3.5% | 15% | C+ |
| 2,126 | New Paltz NY | 8,689 | $53K | 38.2% | 10.7% | 11% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,125 | 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 Hastings, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Work in the towns next to Hastings
The biggest share goes to Rutland Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hastings workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hastings | – | C+ | B+ | 23 min | $58,286 |
| Rutland Township | 5% | B− | D | 26 min | $87,875 |
| Hastings Township | 4% | C+ | B− | 22 min | $78,538 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Hastings’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 Hastings: questions
What is the median household income in Hastings?
$58,286 (±$7,237) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hastings?
12.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hastings?
23 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hastings work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (7%, 28 mi), Thornapple Township (7%, 12 mi), Rutland Township (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Hastings walkable?
Hastings is more walkable than 69% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hastings without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hastings, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hastings
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.