Photo: Andrew Martin · CC BY 3.0A job hub: Lansing has 2.0 jobs per working resident, and 71,881 people come in to work
There are 85,586 jobs in Lansing, and 43,180 of its residents work somewhere. Lansing grades C− for jobs and income and A for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 82% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Lansing
Lansing is where the jobs are
Lansing has 85,586 jobs, 2.0 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Most Lansing residents work close to home
64% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Lansing draws workers from far and wide
The 85,586 jobs in Lansing are filled from a wide area. Lansing’s own residents hold 16% and the ten next-biggest home towns 26%; the other 58% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Lansing are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. 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.
Lansing’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lansing is better than 24% of U.S. towns, #586 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Lansing’s grade up (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (8.2%, 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 two years behind.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lansing could be anywhere from C− to C.
A workday in Lansing: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 29,475 residents head out to work and 13,705 work right here.
About 156,000 people are in Lansing on a workday afternoon, 37% 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.
Miles to work from Lansing
About 24% 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.
Where Lansing’s workforce comes from
Where Lansing clocks in
9% of workers
4% 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.
Getting to work from Lansing takes about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lansing workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 47,471 commuters (the 15% 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 kinds of work in Lansing
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lansing, 2011 → 2021: 95,962 → 85,586. 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 Lansing’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Lansing is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lansing is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #10 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Lansing 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 55,705 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 98% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 60% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 8.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 92% 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). 11.8% of Lansing households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Lansing’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
How Lansing compares with U.S. towns of 80,000 to 154,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Jordan UT | 87,614 | $134K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Canton Township MI | 99,714 | $121K | 5.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Troy MI | 88,733 | $120K | 5.4% | 4.4% | 20% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Ann Arbor MI | 122,233 | $82K | 23.8% | 3.9% | 48% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 342 | Columbia SC | 147,035 | $56K | 24.0% | 7.5% | 40% | C− |
| 343 | Victorville CA | 141,395 | $74K | 18.4% | 11.1% | 17% | C− |
| 344 | Lansing MI | 113,884 | $54K | 20.1% | 8.2% | 32% | C− |
| 345 | Lake Charles LA | 82,676 | $59K | 23.3% | 6.6% | 54% | C− |
| 346 | Trenton NJ | 91,506 | $53K | 21.6% | 10.1% | 18% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 365 | Lawton OK | 90,503 | $54K | 21.1% | 8.1% | 55% | 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 Lansing, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Next door is work for 23% of Lansing
The biggest share goes to East Lansing (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lansing workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lansing | – | C− | A | 19 min | $54,382 |
| Lansing Township | 3% | C | A− | 18 min | $48,450 |
| East Lansing | 9% | A− | A+ | 16 min | $45,687 |
| Delta Township | 8% | B | A− | 19 min | $84,342 |
| DeWitt Township | under 2% | A | C | 24 min | $96,824 |
| Delhi Township | 3% | B | B+ | 22 min | $90,437 |
| Okemos | under 2% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| Edgemont Park | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Holt | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Windsor Township | under 2% | A | C− | 22 min | $105,906 |
Same-state neighbors only. Okemos, Edgemont Park and Holt: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Lansing’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 Lansing: questions
What is the median household income in Lansing?
$54,382 (±$1,938) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lansing?
20.1%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lansing?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lansing work?
32% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are East Lansing (9%, 5 mi), Delta Township (8%, 5 mi), Meridian Township (4%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Lansing walkable?
Lansing is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.5 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lansing without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 60% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lansing, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lansing
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.