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Work & commute in Elizabeth · A commuter town

94% of Elizabeth’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Elizabeth for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Pittsburgh (19%), Elizabeth (7%) and Jefferson Hills (5%). Half commute less than 11 miles.

Work in town
6%
42 of 706 working residents
Typical commute
11 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
28 min
More than PA (26 min)
Work from home
9%
Less than PA (16%)
Jobs based here
325
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Elizabeth?

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

★ What stands out · The commute map

19% of working residents work in Pittsburgh

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

West ElizabethElizabethLibertyPleasant HillsMcKeesport: 16 residents work here (2%)Bethel Park: 17 residents work here (2%)West Mifflin: 31 residents work here (4%)Jefferson Hills: 36 residents work here (5%)Monroeville: 16 residents work here (2%)Pittsburgh: 136 residents work here (19%)South HuntingdonRostraver: 13 residents work here (2%)Cecil: 16 residents work here (2%)Elizabeth: 50 residents work here (7%)ForwardNottinghamBlaine HillPittsburghElizabethJefferson HillsWest MifflinBethel ParkMcKeesportElizabeth
1
Pittsburgh12.5 mi away
19%136
2
Elizabeth3.7 mi away
7%50
3
Elizabeth (in town)right here
6%42
4
Jefferson Hills3.4 mi away
5%36
5
West Mifflin6 mi away
4%31
6
Bethel Park8.7 mi away
2%17
7
McKeesport5.3 mi away
2%16
8
Monroeville12.6 mi away
2%16
9
Cecil16.1 mi away
2%16
10
Rostraver8.2 mi away
2%13
Everywhere elseother towns and states
47%333
The top trips

Where Elizabeth clocks in

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

The jobs

Elizabeth makes things: 37% of its jobs are in goods

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

Jobs based in ElizabethJobs Elizabeth residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms37%14%
Trade, transport & utilities24%22%
Services: health, schools, offices39%64%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less22%15%
$1,251–$3,333 a month33%32%
Over $3,333 a month45%53%

Who does it

29 or younger23%22%
30 to 5447%50%
55 and older30%28%
−0%

Jobs based in Elizabeth, 2013 → 2023: 326 → 325. 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.

Day and night

Elizabeth quiets down on a workday

On a workday 664 residents head out to work, 42 work right here, and 283 people come in from elsewhere.

664live here, work elsewhere
42live and work here
283work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night1,400
Workday990
1,400live here− 660head out to work+ 280come in to work= 990on a workday

About 990 people are in Elizabeth on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.46jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.46 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.

How far

Half of Elizabeth commutes less than 11 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 miPittsburgh: 19% · 12.5 miElizabeth: 7% · 3.7 miJefferson Hills: 5% · 3.4 miWest Mifflin: 4% · 6 miBethel Park: 2% · 8.7 miMcKeesport: 2% · 5.3 miMonroeville: 2% · 12.6 miCecil: 2% · 16.1 miRostraver: 2% · 8.2 miPittsburgh 19%Elizabeth 7%Jefferson Hills 5%West Mifflin 4%Bethel Park 2%Elizabeth
ElizabethTop destinations (size = commuters)
47%Under 10 mi334 residents
42%10–24 mi294 residents
4%25–50 mi25 residents
7%Over 50 mi52 residents

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

Time on the road

About 28 minutes each way, about the PA average

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

A year of commuting
215 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Elizabeth28 min
Pennsylvania26 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
9%

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

About 1 in 10
Next door

Elizabeth and the towns next door

The biggest share goes to Jefferson Hills (5%). Darker towns draw more of Elizabeth’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

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 Elizabeth

Elizabeth home →

Commuter talk

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

Town Square →
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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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