Work & commute · Harrisburg

Work & commute in Harrisburg, PA

About one in 5 of Harrisburg’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Lower Paxton (6%), Susquehanna (6%) and Swatara (5%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

20%

4,035 of 19,985 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 15,950 Harrisburg residents head out of town to work, 4,035 work right here, and 47,953 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Harrisburg.

15,950live here, work elsewhere

4,035live and work here

47,953work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Harrisburg goes to work

Harrisburg (in town)right here

20%4,035

Lower Paxton5.2 mi away

6%1,213

Susquehanna2.9 mi away

6%1,203

Swatara4.7 mi away

5%1,015

Derry12.2 mi away

5%976

Hampden5.2 mi away

4%812

Lower Allen5.1 mi away

3%611

Lower Swatara7.8 mi away

2%487

Philadelphia94.3 mi away

2%437

East Pennsboro2.8 mi away

2%385

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%8,811

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

How far

How far Harrisburg commutes

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

61%

14%

18%

61%Under 10 mi

14%10–24 mi

7%25–50 mi

18%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Harrisburg is a job hub

2.60jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Harrisburg are

51,988 jobs are based in Harrisburg. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Harrisburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Harrisburg

51,988 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)85%

$1,250 a month or less7%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month76%

Jobs Harrisburg residents hold

19,985 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month34%

Over $3,333 a month48%

+12%

Jobs based in Harrisburg, 2013 → 2023: 46,601 → 51,988. 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.