Wyoming at work: jobs, income and the commute
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 6.3 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 13.4 in Grand Rapids. The two grades for Wyoming are B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. About one in seven work in Wyoming; the top destination outside it is Grand Rapids (22%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Wyoming apart
Much of Wyoming works one town over
45% of working residents work in a town that borders Wyoming: Grand Rapids (22%), Kentwood (9%) and Grandville (5%). Next door ↓
Most Wyoming residents work close to home
69% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. 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.
What’s behind Wyoming’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wyoming is better than 64% of U.S. towns, #286 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Wyoming’s grade up (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (10.5%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on unemployment.
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, Wyoming could be anywhere from B to B+.
The distance from Wyoming to work
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 commutes out of Wyoming, and who commutes in
On a workday 28,345 residents head out to work, 5,003 work right here, and 37,603 people come in from elsewhere.
About 88,000 people are in Wyoming on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.28 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.
Where the trip to work from Wyoming ends
Where Wyoming clocks in
9% of workers
6% 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.
What Wyoming’s employers do
42,606 jobs are based in Wyoming.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wyoming, 2011 → 2021: 34,684 → 42,606. 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 Wyoming’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 22 minutes each way, quicker than most of Michigan
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wyoming workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 37,140 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Wyoming
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wyoming is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns, #69 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 41,428 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 87% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 16% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 88% 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). 5.9% of Wyoming households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Wyoming’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Wyoming is 303rd of 573 U.S. towns of 55,000 to 106,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Canton Township MI | 99,714 | $121K | 5.5% | 3.6% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Rochester Hills MI | 77,539 | $121K | 5.2% | 4.1% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 75 | Troy MI | 88,733 | $120K | 5.4% | 4.4% | 20% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 301 | Quincy MA | 103,173 | $99K | 10.6% | 6.9% | 14% | B |
| 302 | La Habra CA | 60,908 | $100K | 10.9% | 7.1% | 6% | B |
| 303 | Wyoming MI | 78,588 | $74K | 10.5% | 4.1% | 15% | B |
| 304 | Alhambra CA | 79,820 | $88K | 12.6% | 5.3% | 9% | B |
| 305 | Deltona FL | 100,267 | $77K | 10.2% | 3.4% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 573 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | 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 Wyoming, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
Bordering towns draw 45% of Wyoming’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wyoming workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | – | B | A− | 22 min | $73,677 |
| Grand Rapids | 22% | B− | A+ | 19 min | $69,108 |
| Byron Township | 3% | A− | B+ | 21 min | $91,481 |
| Grandville | 5% | A | A− | 18 min | $78,442 |
| Cutlerville | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Kentwood | 9% | B | A− | 20 min | $74,373 |
| Walker | 4% | A− | B+ | 20 min | $76,360 |
| Georgetown Township | 2% | A− | B− | 22 min | $102,150 |
Same-state neighbors only. Cutlerville: 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 Grand Rapids. Darker towns draw more of Wyoming’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 Wyoming: questions
What is the median household income in Wyoming?
$73,677 (±$2,416) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wyoming?
10.5%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wyoming?
22 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wyoming work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Grand Rapids (22%, 6 mi), Kentwood (9%, 6 mi), Cascade Township (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Wyoming walkable?
Wyoming is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wyoming without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 16% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wyoming, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wyoming
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.