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Work & commute in Melrose Park · A commuter town

99% of Melrose Park’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Melrose Park for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Philadelphia (43%), Cheltenham (5%) and Abington (4%). Half commute less than 8 miles.

Work in town
1%
11 of 1,082 working residents
Typical commute
8 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
35 min
More than PA (26 min)
Work from home
17%
More than PA (16%)
Jobs based here
688
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Melrose Park?

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

★ What stands out · The commute map

43% of working residents work in Philadelphia

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

Jenkintown: 15 residents work here (1%)ReadingPhiladelphia: 469 residents work here (43%)Abington: 39 residents work here (4%)Cheltenham: 56 residents work here (5%)Lower Merion: 17 residents work here (2%)Upper MorelandPlymouth: 18 residents work here (2%)Upper SouthamptonLower MorelandHorsham: 21 residents work here (2%)Upper DarbyUpper Merion: 20 residents work here (2%)Upper Dublin: 14 residents work here (1%)MontgomeryTredyffrin: 24 residents work here (2%)Melrose ParkOak LaneElkins ParkPhiladelphiaCheltenhamAbingtonTredyffrinHorshamUpper MerionMelrose Park
1
Philadelphia3.8 mi away
43%469
2
Cheltenham1.1 mi away
5%56
3
Abington3.5 mi away
4%39
4
Tredyffrin17.1 mi away
2%24
5
Horsham9.6 mi away
2%21
6
Upper Merion13.5 mi away
2%20
7
Plymouth9.6 mi away
2%18
8
Lower Merion8.4 mi away
2%17
9
Jenkintown2.2 mi away
1%15
10
Upper Dublin6.7 mi away
1%14
Everywhere elseother towns and states
36%389
The top trips

Where Melrose Park clocks in

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

The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

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

Jobs based in Melrose ParkJobs Melrose Park residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms1%6%
Trade, transport & utilities2%15%
Services: health, schools, offices97%79%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less22%12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month28%20%
Over $3,333 a month50%68%

Who does it

29 or younger22%18%
30 to 5450%51%
55 and older28%31%
+45%

Jobs based in Melrose Park, 2013 → 2023: 474 → 688. 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 35 minutes each way, longer than most of Pennsylvania

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

A year of commuting
268 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.2 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Melrose Park35 min
Pennsylvania26 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
17%

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

About 2 in 10
Day and night

Melrose Park quiets down on a workday

On a workday 1,071 residents head out to work, 11 work right here, and 677 people come in from elsewhere.

1,071live here, work elsewhere
11live and work here
677work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night2,300
Workday1,900
2,300live here− 1,100head out to work+ 680come in to work= 1,900on a workday

About 1,900 people are in Melrose Park on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.64jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.64 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 Melrose Park commutes less than 8 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 miPhiladelphia: 43% · 3.8 miCheltenham: 5% · 1.1 miAbington: 4% · 3.5 miTredyffrin: 2% · 17.1 miHorsham: 2% · 9.6 miUpper Merion: 2% · 13.5 miPlymouth: 2% · 9.6 miLower Merion: 2% · 8.4 miJenkintown: 1% · 2.2 miUpper Dublin: 1% · 6.7 miPhiladelphia 43%Cheltenham 5%Abington 4%Tredyffrin 2%Horsham 2%Melrose Park
Melrose ParkTop destinations (size = commuters)
64%Under 10 mi691 residents
23%10–24 mi251 residents
4%25–50 mi45 residents
8%Over 50 mi89 residents

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

Next door

Melrose Park and the towns next door

Darker towns draw more of Melrose Park’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Oak Lane33 min
Elkins Park34 min
Melrose Park35 min
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 Melrose Park

Melrose Park home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Melrose Park, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
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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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