Jobs and earnings in Sand Lake, and the trip to work
179 jobs are based in Sand Lake, against 209 working residents. Hardly any stay in Sand Lake for work; outside it, Grand Rapids is the main destination (16%, 24 miles). Commuters spend 32 minutes getting to work on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Sand Lake apart on work
Sand Lake’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Sand Lake is Grand Rapids, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 16% of working residents (33) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Sand Lake workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 24 across Michigan. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical 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; with 209 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How far Sand Lake goes to work
About 15% 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.
Sand Lake’s commute takes about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sand Lake workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 164 commuters (the 10% 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 a workday changes Sand Lake
On a workday 207 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 177 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 (0.86 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 Sand Lake commutes to
Where Sand Lake clocks in
7% 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.
Jobs in Sand Lake: what the 179 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sand Lake, 2011 → 2021: 174 → 179. 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 Sand Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
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 Sand Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Sand Lake?
$34,286 (±$31,099) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sand Lake?
14.0%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sand Lake?
32 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sand Lake work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (16%, 24 mi), Kentwood (7%, 28 mi), Wyoming (6%, 29 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Can you get around Sand Lake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sand Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sand Lake
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.