Photo: Gpwitteveen · CC BY-SA 3.0Kentwood has 2.1 jobs for every working resident: 45,852 people commute in to work
Kentwood has 49,203 jobs, and 23,442 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for Kentwood are B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 7.7 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 13.4 in Grand Rapids.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Kentwood at work: what stands out
Much of Kentwood works one town over
49% of working residents work in a town that borders Kentwood: Grand Rapids (24%), Cascade Township (11%) and Wyoming (9%). Next door ↓
Kentwood is where the jobs are
Kentwood has 49,203 jobs, 2.1 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 81,000 people are in town, 47% more than the 55,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Most Kentwood residents work close to home
70% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Kentwood draws workers from far and wide
The 49,203 jobs in Kentwood are filled from a wide area. Kentwood’s own residents hold 7% and the ten next-biggest home towns 31%; the other 62% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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 Kentwood’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Kentwood is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #306 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Kentwood’s grade up (ahead of 89% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.5%, U.S. 5.2%).
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, Kentwood could be anywhere from B− to A−.
The daily commute in and out of Kentwood
On a workday 20,091 residents head out to work and 3,351 work right here.
About 81,000 people are in Kentwood on a workday afternoon, 47% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Kentwood
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.
Who travels to work in Kentwood, and from where
Where Kentwood clocks in
11% 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.
The kinds of work in Kentwood
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kentwood, 2011 → 2021: 42,727 → 49,203. 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 Kentwood’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Kentwood takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kentwood workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 24,532 commuters (the 12% 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.
In Kentwood, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kentwood is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #86 of 701 in Michigan. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.2% 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 27,866 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 69% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 8% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 90% 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). 7.6% of Kentwood households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Kentwood’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Kentwood is 477th among 834 U.S. towns of 38,000 to 74,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Liberty Township OH | 40,625 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.5% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 54 | Bloomfield Township MI | 43,904 | $163K | 4.8% | 3.6% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 126 | Meridian Township MI | 44,869 | $87K | 13.1% | 3.6% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 152 | Royal Oak MI | 57,583 | $101K | 6.2% | 3.5% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 475 | Portland ME | 69,911 | $80K | 11.2% | 4.2% | 49% | B |
| 476 | Grand Blanc Township MI | 40,022 | $85K | 8.7% | 5.1% | 8% | B |
| 477 | Kentwood MI | 54,776 | $74K | 10.4% | 4.5% | 14% | B |
| 478 | Manchester CT | 59,773 | $87K | 10.8% | 5.6% | 17% | B |
| 479 | Millcreek Township PA | 52,680 | $76K | 9.7% | 3.5% | 23% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 834 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 25% | 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 Kentwood, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door is work for 49% of Kentwood
The biggest share goes to Grand Rapids (24%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kentwood workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentwood | – | B | A− | 20 min | $74,373 |
| Grand Rapids | 24% | B− | A+ | 19 min | $69,108 |
| Cascade Township | 11% | A+ | C+ | 19 min | $135,896 |
| Wyoming | 9% | B | A− | 22 min | $73,677 |
| Forest Hills | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| Gaines Township | 3% | A− | B | 21 min | $82,738 |
| Grand Rapids Township | 2% | A | B | 20 min | $123,246 |
| Ada Township | under 2% | A+ | B− | 20 min | $168,468 |
Same-state neighbors only. Forest Hills: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Kentwood’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 Kentwood: questions
What is the median household income in Kentwood?
$74,373 (±$5,045) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kentwood?
10.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kentwood?
20 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kentwood work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (24%, 6 mi), Cascade Township (11%, 5 mi), Wyoming (9%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Kentwood walkable?
Kentwood is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.2 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kentwood without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 8% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kentwood, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kentwood
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.