Work & commute · Allentown

Work & commute in Allentown, PA

Most working residents leave Allentown for work: only 16% work in town. The top destinations are Upper Macungie (9%), Bethlehem (8%) and South Whitehall (4%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

16%

8,222 of 51,708 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 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 43,486 Allentown residents head out of town to work, 8,222 work right here, and 36,785 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Allentown.

43,486live here, work elsewhere

8,222live and work here

36,785work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Allentown goes to work

Allentown (in town)right here

16%8,222

Upper Macungie7.9 mi away

9%4,883

Bethlehem6.2 mi away

8%4,080

South Whitehall3.9 mi away

4%1,999

Salisbury2.6 mi away

3%1,682

Lower Macungie6.3 mi away

3%1,675

Philadelphia44.3 mi away

3%1,574

Hanover4.4 mi away

3%1,453

Hanover6.7 mi away

3%1,446

Whitehall4.6 mi away

2%1,094

Everywhere elseother towns and states

46%23,600

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

How far

How far Allentown commutes

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

61%

11%

15%

14%

61%Under 10 mi

11%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Allentown is balanced between jobs and homes

0.87jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.87 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Allentown are

45,007 jobs are based in Allentown. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Allentown’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Allentown

45,007 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)76%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs Allentown residents hold

51,708 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities30%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month32%

Over $3,333 a month54%

+4%

Jobs based in Allentown, 2013 → 2023: 43,185 → 45,007. 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.