Work & commute · Lancaster

Work & commute in Lancaster, PA

Most working residents leave Lancaster for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Lancaster (19%), East Hempfield (9%) and Manheim (8%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

263 of 8,162 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 7,899 Lancaster residents head out of town to work, 263 work right here, and 3,564 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Lancaster.

7,899live here, work elsewhere

263live and work here

3,564work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Lancaster goes to work

Lancaster1.9 mi away

19%1,579

East Hempfield5.2 mi away

9%726

Manheim5 mi away

8%671

East Lampeter6 mi away

5%421

Lancaster (in town)right here

3%263

Upper Leacock8.6 mi away

3%245

West Lampeter4.1 mi away

2%189

Manor5.4 mi away

2%186

Philadelphia63.1 mi away

2%155

West Hempfield8.1 mi away

2%152

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%3,575

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

How far

How far Lancaster commutes

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

60%

16%

12%

60%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

12%25–50 mi

12%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Lancaster is a commuter town

0.47jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.47 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Lancaster are

3,827 jobs are based in Lancaster. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lancaster’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Lancaster

3,827 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities15%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less18%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month52%

Jobs Lancaster residents hold

8,162 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities19%

Services (health, schools, offices…)61%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month25%

Over $3,333 a month61%

−13%

Jobs based in Lancaster, 2013 → 2023: 4,414 → 3,827. 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.