Photo: Ian (Wiki Ed) · CC BY-SA 4.0Jobs, income and commuting in Okemos, MI
Home is the office for 24% of workers; Michigan has 14%. About one in ten work in Okemos; the top destination outside it is Lansing (22%, 8 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 19 minutes, where Michigan has 24 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Okemos stands out on work
A lot of Okemos works one town over
41% of working residents work in a town that borders Okemos: Lansing (22%) and East Lansing (19%). Next door ↓
Okemos is where the jobs are
Okemos has 14,663 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
A lot of Okemos works from home
24% of Okemos workers work from home, against 14% across Michigan. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Okemos
68% of Okemos residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 48% of the jobs based in Okemos pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 88% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Most Okemos residents work close to home
60% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Okemos
On a workday 8,338 residents head out to work, 1,100 work right here, and 13,563 people come in from elsewhere.
About 32,000 people are in Okemos on a workday afternoon, 20% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.
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 trip to work from Okemos: about 19 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Okemos workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,133 commuters (the 24% 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.
What work there is in Okemos: 14,663 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Okemos, 2011 → 2021: 14,539 → 14,663. 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 Okemos’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Okemos’ workers travel
About 22% 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 Okemos’s workers come from
Where Okemos clocks in
22% of workers
19% of workers
10% 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.
Okemos and its neighbors: 41% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Okemos workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okemos | – | — | — | 19 min | $102,612 |
| Haslett | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Lansing | 22% | C− | A | 19 min | $54,382 |
| East Lansing | 19% | A− | A+ | 16 min | $45,687 |
Same-state neighbors only. Haslett: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Lansing. Darker towns draw more of Okemos’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 Okemos: questions
What is the median household income in Okemos?
$102,612 (±$12,341) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Okemos?
14.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Okemos?
19 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 24% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Okemos work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lansing (22%, 8 mi), East Lansing (19%, 4 mi), Meridian Township (10%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Okemos without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Okemos, from the people who make the trip.
More of Okemos
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.