Work & commute · Bethlehem

Work & commute in Bethlehem, PA

Most working residents leave Bethlehem for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Bethlehem (13%), Allentown (7%) and Hanover (3%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

973 of 11,474 working residents

Typical commute

10 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 10,501 Bethlehem residents head out of town to work, 973 work right here, and 12,420 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bethlehem.

10,501live here, work elsewhere

973live and work here

12,420work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bethlehem goes to work

Bethlehem3.9 mi away

13%1,445

Bethlehem (in town)right here

8%973

Allentown9.9 mi away

7%794

Hanover4.3 mi away

3%370

Fountain Hill6 mi away

3%364

Upper Macungie17.6 mi away

3%355

Palmer3.7 mi away

3%348

Philadelphia46.3 mi away

3%322

Salisbury7.6 mi away

2%279

Easton5.2 mi away

2%258

Everywhere elseother towns and states

52%5,966

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

How far

How far Bethlehem commutes

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

51%

19%

16%

14%

51%Under 10 mi

19%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

14%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bethlehem is balanced between jobs and homes

1.17jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.17 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Bethlehem are

13,393 jobs are based in Bethlehem. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bethlehem’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Bethlehem

13,393 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)62%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month28%

Over $3,333 a month54%

Jobs Bethlehem residents hold

11,474 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month20%

Over $3,333 a month67%

+27%

Jobs based in Bethlehem, 2013 → 2023: 10,519 → 13,393. 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.