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Jobs & commute in Martin

Making a living in Martin

The average commute takes 26 minutes each way (Michigan 24, U.S. 26). Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers (Michigan 14%). Only 1% work in Martin; the top destination outside it is Kalamazoo (9%, 18 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

Day and night

Martin on a workday afternoon

On a workday 160 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 131 people come in from elsewhere.

160live here, work elsewhere
2live and work here
131work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night400
Workday370
400live here− 160head out to work+ 130come in to work= 370on a workday

About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.82jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

About as many jobs as working residents (0.82 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 commute map

Where people from Martin work

MartinOtsegoPlainwellAllegan: 5 residents work here (3%)Holland: 5 residents work here (3%)Kalamazoo: 14 residents work here (9%)Wyoming: 8 residents work here (5%)Kentwood: 4 residents work here (2%)Grand Rapids: 9 residents work here (6%)Dorr Township: 4 residents work here (2%)Byron Township: 11 residents work here (7%)Plainfield TownshipLeighton Township: 5 residents work here (3%)Cooper TownshipGun Plain TownshipPrairieville TownshipOrangeville TownshipWatson TownshipGaines TownshipMartin Township: 11 residents work here (7%)KalamazooByron TownshipMartin TownshipGrand RapidsWyomingAlleganMartin
1
Kalamazoo18.3 mi away
9%14
2
Byron Township19.5 mi away
7%11
3
Martin Township1.5 mi away
7%11
4
Grand Rapids29.3 mi away
6%9
5
Wyoming24.7 mi away
5%8
6
Allegan10.2 mi away
3%5
7
Holland28.3 mi away
3%5
8
Leighton Township13.4 mi away
3%5
9
Kentwood24.2 mi away
2%4
10
Dorr Township13.6 mi away
2%4
Everywhere elseother towns and states
53%86
The top trips

Where Martin 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.

The jobs

What work there is in Martin: 133 jobs

133 jobs are based in Martin.

Jobs based in MartinJobs Martin residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms0%38%
Trade, transport & utilities26%21%
Services: health, schools, offices74%41%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less25%15%
$1,251–$3,333 a month33%28%
Over $3,333 a month42%57%

Who does it

29 or younger22%21%
30 to 5454%56%
55 and older24%23%
−40%

Jobs based in Martin, 2011 → 2021: 223 → 133. 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 Martin’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Time on the road

How long Martin spends getting to work: about 26 minutes

A year of commuting
200 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Martin26 min
Michigan24 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
4%

of Martin workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.

About 0 in 10
How Martin gets to work
86%Drive alone
5%Carpool
1%Transit
8%Walk

Share of the 264 commuters (the 4% 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.

How far

Near or far: the trip to work from Martin

10 mi25 mi35 miKalamazoo: 9% · 18.3 miByron Township: 7% · 19.5 miMartin Township: 7% · 1.5 miGrand Rapids: 6% · 29.3 miWyoming: 5% · 24.7 miAllegan: 3% · 10.2 miHolland: 3% · 28.3 miLeighton Township: 3% · 13.4 miKentwood: 2% · 24.2 miDorr Township: 2% · 13.6 miKalamazoo 9%Byron Township 7%Martin Township 7%Grand Rapids 6%Wyoming 5%Martin
MartinTop destinations (size = commuters)
18%Under 10 mi29 residents
44%10–24 mi72 residents
22%25–50 mi35 residents
16%Over 50 mi26 residents

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.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Martin: questions

What is the median household income in Martin?

$60,357 (±$10,712) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Martin?

5.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Martin?

26 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Martin work?

1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kalamazoo (9%, 18 mi), Byron Township (7%, 20 mi), Martin Township (7%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).

Can you get around Martin without a car?

1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Martin, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Martin

Martin home →

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.