Max and Esther De Pree House · Photo: Jim Roberts · CC BY-SA 4.0Zeeland draws 15,189 commuters a day, with 5.6 jobs for every working resident
There are 15,752 jobs in Zeeland; 2,808 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Zeeland are B for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Measured by household income, Zeeland is behind 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2021, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Zeeland
Zeeland fills up on a workday
Zeeland has 15,752 jobs, 5.6 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 19,000 people are in town, 3 times the 5,600 who live here. Day and night ↓
Zeeland makes and builds things
73% of the jobs based in Zeeland are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Zeeland residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 34%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Zeeland are quick
The average trip to work takes 14 minutes, against 24 across Michigan. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Michigan worker. Time on the road ↓
Zeeland and Holland Township trade workers both ways
Holland Township is the top workplace for Zeeland residents (16%) and also where the most people who work in Zeeland come from (18% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Zeeland has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Zeeland went from 9,861 in 2011 to 15,752 in 2021, +60%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
What’s behind Zeeland’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Zeeland is better than 57% of U.S. towns, #341 of 701 in Michigan. Job access by car holds Zeeland’s grade up (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($52,628, U.S. $80,734). 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 rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Zeeland could be anywhere from C− to A.
Zeeland on a workday afternoon
On a workday 2,245 residents head out to work and 563 work right here.
About 19,000 people are in Zeeland on a workday afternoon, 230% 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.
Goods, not services: 73% of the jobs in Zeeland
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Zeeland, 2011 → 2021: 9,861 → 15,752. 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 Zeeland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Zeeland: about 14 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Zeeland workers work from home, vs 14% across Michigan. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,520 commuters (the 8% 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 towns that send workers to Zeeland
Where Zeeland clocks in
16% of workers
15% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Zeeland
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.
Driving is how Zeeland gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Zeeland is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns, #290 of 701 in Michigan. Both inputs place Zeeland 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 2,725 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 8.3% of Zeeland households have no vehicle (Michigan 7.0%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Zeeland’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,683rd of 3,561: where Zeeland ranks among U.S. towns of 3,900 to 7,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Northville MI | 6,013 | $146K | 2.8% | 2.1% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 122 | Vergennes Township MI | 4,968 | $113K | 1.5% | 0.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,681 | Hurricane WV | 7,367 | $71K | 8.5% | 3.6% | 6% | B |
| 1,682 | Morrison IL | 3,945 | $69K | 8.1% | 2.3% | 24% | B |
| 1,683 | Zeeland MI | 5,637 | $53K | 10.4% | 2.9% | 20% | B |
| 1,684 | Franklin NJ | 5,083 | $93K | 8.0% | 7.2% | 8% | B |
| 1,685 | Manor Township PA | 4,068 | $75K | 3.8% | 5.0% | 9% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,561 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Zeeland, the top three, the last and three more from Michigan.
The towns next door employ 19% of Zeeland
The biggest share goes to Holland Township (16%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Zeeland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zeeland | – | B | B− | 14 min | $52,628 |
| Holland Township | 16% | — | — | 18 min | — |
| Zeeland Township | 3% | A | B | 18 min | $113,750 |
Same-state neighbors only. Holland Township: not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Zeeland’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 Zeeland: questions
What is the median household income in Zeeland?
$52,628 (±$17,296) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $72,875 across Michigan and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Zeeland?
10.4%, against 13.2% across Michigan and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Zeeland?
14 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Michigan and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Zeeland work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Holland Township (16%, 3 mi), Holland (15%, 5 mi), Grand Rapids (7%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2021).
Is Zeeland walkable?
Zeeland is more walkable than 45% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Zeeland without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Zeeland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Zeeland
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.