Work & commute · Bethlehem

Work & commute in Bethlehem, PA

About one in 5 of Bethlehem’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Allentown (8%), Upper Macungie (4%) and Bethlehem (4%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

20%

6,557 of 33,173 working residents

Typical commute

8 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

17%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 26,616 Bethlehem residents head out of town to work, 6,557 work right here, and 33,181 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Bethlehem.

26,616live here, work elsewhere

6,557live and work here

33,181work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Bethlehem goes to work

Bethlehem (in town)right here

20%6,557

Allentown6.2 mi away

8%2,686

Upper Macungie14 mi away

4%1,359

Bethlehem3.9 mi away

4%1,250

Hanover3.2 mi away

4%1,234

Fountain Hill2.2 mi away

3%1,050

Philadelphia44.4 mi away

3%971

Salisbury3.8 mi away

3%833

South Whitehall9.3 mi away

2%781

Hanover4.2 mi away

2%655

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%15,797

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.

56%

14%

16%

13%

56%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

16%25–50 mi

13%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Bethlehem is balanced between jobs and homes

1.20jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.20 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Bethlehem are

39,738 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

39,738 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)13%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month65%

Jobs Bethlehem residents hold

33,173 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)14%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month63%

+15%

Jobs based in Bethlehem, 2013 → 2023: 34,607 → 39,738. 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.