Work and commuting in Kent City
Kent City grades B+ for jobs and income and B− for walkability. For 2% of workers, the job is at home (Michigan 14%). Only 3% work in Kent City itself; outside it, Grand Rapids draws the most (17%, 19 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Kent City apart
Why Kent City gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty and job access, Kent City is better than 73% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate is its strongest input (6.0%, U.S. 12.5%); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($76,587, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
Unemployment (2.7%) is left out: Kent City’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
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 and poverty, Kent City could be anywhere from B− to A.
Each way, about 24 minutes from Kent City
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kent City workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 632 commuters (the 2% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Kent City
On a workday 442 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 382 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 (0.87 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 places Kent City commutes to
Where Kent City 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.
Jobs in Kent City: what the 395 are
395 jobs are based in Kent City.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kent City, 2011 → 2021: 456 → 395. 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 Kent City’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Kent City
About 18% 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.
Most of Kent City commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kent City is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Kent City 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 647 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). 9.7% of Kent City households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Kent City’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Kent City is 880th of 5,877 U.S. towns of 1,000 to 1,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | 1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 93 | Caledonia MI | 1,778 | $106K | 3.7% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 152 | Dimondale MI | 1,183 | $111K | 3.2% | 4.6% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 187 | Wheatfield Township MI | 1,659 | $117K | 1.9% | 2.7% | 1% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 878 | Garrett WA | 1,697 | $119K | 6.4% | 5.9% | 1% | B+ |
| 879 | Germantown IL | 1,379 | $92K | 5.4% | 1.8% | 8% | B+ |
| 880 | Kent City MI | 1,395 | $77K | 6.0% | 2.7% | 3% | B+ |
| 881 | Glen Gardner NJ | 1,690 | $102K | 6.4% | 4.8% | 1% | B+ |
| 882 | Donald OR | 1,008 | $81K | 7.7% | 11.7% | 3% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,877 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 1% | 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 Kent City, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
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 Kent City: questions
What is the median household income in Kent City?
$76,587 (±$23,927) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kent City?
6.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kent City?
24 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kent City work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (17%, 19 mi), Walker (8%, 16 mi), Tyrone Township (6%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Kent City walkable?
Kent City is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kent City without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kent City, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kent City
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.