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Work & commute in Brownstown · A job hub

Every workday, about 2,000 people come to Brownstown for work

Most working residents leave Brownstown for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Lancaster (8%), Manheim (8%) and West Earl (6%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Work in town
4%
54 of 1,370 working residents
Typical commute
8 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
21 min
Less than PA (26 min)
Work from home
8%
Less than PA (16%)
Jobs based here
2,070
A job hub

What kind of work town is Brownstown?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The jobs

Brownstown makes things: 33% of its jobs are in goods

2,070 jobs are based in Brownstown. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Brownstown’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in BrownstownJobs Brownstown residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms33%24%
Trade, transport & utilities17%22%
Services: health, schools, offices50%54%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less10%15%
$1,251–$3,333 a month15%24%
Over $3,333 a month75%61%

Who does it

29 or younger22%22%
30 to 5451%50%
55 and older28%28%
+60%

Jobs based in Brownstown, 2013 → 2023: 1,294 → 2,070. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Time on the road

About 21 minutes each way, quicker than most of Pennsylvania

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
161 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.7 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Brownstown21 min
Pennsylvania26 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
8%

of Brownstown workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
Day and night

Brownstown fills up on a workday

On a workday 1,316 residents head out to work, 54 work right here, and 2,016 people come in from elsewhere.

1,316live here, work elsewhere
54live and work here
2,016work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night3,700
Workday4,400
3,700live here− 1,300head out to work+ 2,000come in to work= 4,400on a workday

About 4,400 people are in Brownstown on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
1.51jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

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

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

The commute map

Where Brownstown’s workers come from

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Akron: 48 workers live here (2%)New HollandEphrata: 83 workers live here (4%)Lancaster: 84 workers live here (4%)EarlEast Hempfield: 45 workers live here (2%)East Cocalico: 43 workers live here (2%)West Earl: 95 workers live here (5%)East LampeterWarwick: 111 workers live here (5%)Upper LeacockEphrata: 82 workers live here (4%)Manheim: 97 workers live here (5%)West Hempfield: 45 workers live here (2%)BrownstownWarwickManheimWest EarlLancasterEphrataEphrataBrownstown
1
Warwick3.9 mi away
5%111
2
Manheim4.9 mi away
5%97
3
West Earl1.8 mi away
5%95
4
Lancaster7.3 mi away
4%84
5
Ephrata4.2 mi away
4%83
6
Ephrata5.1 mi away
4%82
7
Akron2.3 mi away
2%48
8
East Hempfield9.3 mi away
2%45
9
West Hempfield14.3 mi away
2%45
10
East Cocalico8.9 mi away
2%43
Everywhere elseother towns and states
65%1,337
The top trips

Where Brownstown clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

How far

Half of Brownstown commutes less than 8 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi30 miLancaster: 8% · 7.3 miManheim: 8% · 4.9 miWest Earl: 6% · 1.8 miUpper Leacock: 6% · 3.6 miEast Lampeter: 5% · 6.2 miWarwick: 4% · 3.9 miEast Hempfield: 4% · 9.3 miEphrata: 3% · 4.2 miNew Holland: 3% · 7 miEarl: 3% · 6.4 miLancaster 8%Manheim 8%West Earl 6%Upper Leacock 6%East Lampeter 5%Brownstown
BrownstownTop destinations (size = commuters)
61%Under 10 mi830 residents
17%10–24 mi235 residents
12%25–50 mi164 residents
10%Over 50 mi131 residents

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

Next door

10% of Brownstown works in a bordering town

The biggest share goes to West Earl (6%). Darker towns draw more of Brownstown’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

West Earl21 min
Brownstown21 min
Warwick24 min
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Brownstown

Brownstown home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Brownstown, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from Brownstown worth it?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Ask neighbors

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

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