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Work & commute in Marion · A commuter town

99% of Marion’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Marion for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Reading (6%), Tulpehocken (4%) and Bethel (3%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Work in town
1%
9 of 780 working residents
Typical commute
16 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
25 min
Less than PA (26 min)
Work from home
13%
Less than PA (16%)
Jobs based here
164
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Marion?

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

★ What stands out · The commute map

6% of working residents work in Reading

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

West Reading: 21 residents work here (3%)WomelsdorfWyomissing: 18 residents work here (2%)Reading: 43 residents work here (6%)Philadelphia: 18 residents work here (2%)Bern: 18 residents work here (2%)Spring: 24 residents work here (3%)HeidelbergMarionNorth HeidelbergTulpehocken: 28 residents work here (4%)Muhlenberg: 20 residents work here (3%)PennUpper TulpehockenMillcreekJackson: 22 residents work here (3%)Bethel: 27 residents work here (3%)JeffersonReadingTulpehockenBethelSpringJacksonWest ReadingMarion
1
Reading16.2 mi away
6%43
2
Tulpehocken3.3 mi away
4%28
3
Bethel7.8 mi away
3%27
4
Spring11.9 mi away
3%24
5
Jackson5.3 mi away
3%22
6
West Reading15.3 mi away
3%21
7
Muhlenberg15.9 mi away
3%20
8
Wyomissing14.3 mi away
2%18
9
Philadelphia63.5 mi away
2%18
10
Bern12 mi away
2%18
Everywhere elseother towns and states
69%541
The top trips

Where Marion clocks in

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

Day and night

Marion quiets down on a workday

On a workday 771 residents head out to work, 9 work right here, and 155 people come in from elsewhere.

771live here, work elsewhere
9live and work here
155work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night1,700
Workday1,100
1,700live here− 770head out to work+ 160come in to work= 1,100on a workday

About 1,100 people are in Marion on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.21jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.21 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 Marion commutes less than 16 miles

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

10 mi25 mi50 mi75 miReading: 6% · 16.2 miTulpehocken: 4% · 3.3 miBethel: 3% · 7.8 miSpring: 3% · 11.9 miJackson: 3% · 5.3 miWest Reading: 3% · 15.3 miMuhlenberg: 3% · 15.9 miWyomissing: 2% · 14.3 miPhiladelphia: 2% · 63.5 miBern: 2% · 12 miReading 6%Tulpehocken 4%Bethel 3%Spring 3%Jackson 3%Marion
MarionTop destinations (size = commuters)
26%Under 10 mi199 residents
45%10–24 mi347 residents
16%25–50 mi128 residents
13%Over 50 mi104 residents

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

The jobs

Marion makes things: 31% of its jobs are in goods

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

Jobs based in MarionJobs Marion residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms31%23%
Trade, transport & utilities40%24%
Services: health, schools, offices29%54%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less26%16%
$1,251–$3,333 a month30%17%
Over $3,333 a month45%67%

Who does it

29 or younger33%21%
30 to 5435%48%
55 and older32%31%
+19%

Jobs based in Marion, 2013 → 2023: 138 → 164. 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 25 minutes each way, about the PA average

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

A year of commuting
189 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Marion25 min
Pennsylvania26 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
13%

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

About 1 in 10
Next door

Marion and the towns next door

The biggest share goes to Tulpehocken (4%). Darker towns draw more of Marion’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 Marion

Marion home →

Commuter talk

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

Town Square →
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Is the commute from Marion worth it?

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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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