Work & commute · Chester

Work & commute in Chester, PA

Most working residents leave Chester for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are Philadelphia (18%), Middletown (3%) and Ridley (2%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1,060 of 12,173 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

23 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

10%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 11,113 Chester residents head out of town to work, 1,060 work right here, and 8,093 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Chester.

11,113live here, work elsewhere

1,060live and work here

8,093work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Chester goes to work

Philadelphia17 mi away

18%2,208

Chester (in town)right here

9%1,060

Middletown5.5 mi away

3%349

Ridley3.8 mi away

2%280

Concord7.6 mi away

2%251

Springfield6 mi away

2%235

Tredyffrin15.9 mi away

2%231

Upland0.8 mi away

2%225

Media5.2 mi away

2%220

Lower Merion13.6 mi away

2%220

Everywhere elseother towns and states

57%6,894

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

How far

How far Chester commutes

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

44%

39%

10%

44%Under 10 mi

39%10–24 mi

8%25–50 mi

10%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Chester is balanced between jobs and homes

0.75jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (0.75 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Chester are

9,153 jobs are based in Chester. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Chester’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Chester

9,153 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)67%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month70%

Jobs Chester residents hold

12,173 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities21%

Services (health, schools, offices…)70%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month35%

Over $3,333 a month48%

−16%

Jobs based in Chester, 2013 → 2023: 10,832 → 9,153. 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.