Work & commute · Philadelphia

Work & commute in Philadelphia, NY

Most working residents leave Philadelphia for work: only 2% work in town. The top destinations are Watertown (18%), Philadelphia (18%) and Le Ray (8%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

6 of 333 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 327 Philadelphia residents head out of town to work, 6 work right here, and 113 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Philadelphia.

327live here, work elsewhere

6live and work here

113work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Philadelphia goes to work

Watertown16 mi away

18%60

Philadelphia0.8 mi away

18%60

Le Ray6.7 mi away

8%28

Watertown18.5 mi away

5%18

Pamelia12 mi away

3%10

Champion12.5 mi away

2%8

Oswego62.3 mi away

2%6

New York257.6 mi away

2%6

Hounsfield34.2 mi away

2%6

Salina76.1 mi away

2%5

Everywhere elseother towns and states

38%126

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Philadelphia commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

27%

38%

27%

27%Under 10 mi

38%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

27%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Philadelphia is a commuter town

0.36jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.36 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Philadelphia are

119 jobs are based in Philadelphia. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Philadelphia’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Philadelphia

119 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)0%

Trade, transport & utilities58%

Services (health, schools, offices…)42%

$1,250 a month or less22%

$1,251–$3,333 a month45%

Over $3,333 a month34%

Jobs Philadelphia residents hold

333 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month57%

+11%

Jobs based in Philadelphia, 2013 → 2023: 107 → 119. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.