Work & commute · Bern

Work & commute in Bern, PA

Most working residents leave Bern for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Reading (11%), Muhlenberg (6%) and Spring (5%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

212 of 2,804 working residents

Typical commute

9 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

12%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,592 Bern residents head out of town to work, 212 work right here, and 5,656 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bern.

2,592live here, work elsewhere

212live and work here

5,656work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bern goes to work

Reading5.5 mi away

11%306

Bern (in town)right here

8%212

Muhlenberg3.8 mi away

6%178

Spring6.6 mi away

5%141

Wyomissing4.7 mi away

4%114

West Reading5.2 mi away

4%113

Maxatawny15.9 mi away

3%81

Ontelaunee4.9 mi away

3%79

Philadelphia52.9 mi away

2%69

Cumru8.8 mi away

2%48

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%1,463

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

How far

How far Bern commutes

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

52%

16%

20%

12%

52%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

20%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bern is a job hub

2.09jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.1 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Bern are

5,868 jobs are based in Bern. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bern’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bern

5,868 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)23%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)68%

$1,250 a month or less7%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month74%

Jobs Bern residents hold

2,804 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)55%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month67%

+9%

Jobs based in Bern, 2013 → 2023: 5,379 → 5,868. 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.