Work & commute · Palmerton

Work & commute in Palmerton, PA

Most working residents leave Palmerton for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Allentown (6%), Upper Macungie (5%) and Lower Towamensing (5%). Half commute less than 16 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10%

287 of 2,931 working residents

Typical commute

16 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

30 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 2,644 Palmerton residents head out of town to work, 287 work right here, and 1,374 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Palmerton.

2,644live here, work elsewhere

287live and work here

1,374work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Palmerton goes to work

Palmerton (in town)right here

10%287

Allentown16.3 mi away

6%178

Upper Macungie16.3 mi away

5%156

Lower Towamensing2.5 mi away

5%134

Bethlehem17.9 mi away

3%97

South Whitehall13.3 mi away

3%88

Lehighton5.4 mi away

2%73

Franklin4.3 mi away

2%72

Fountain Hill18.1 mi away

2%67

Salisbury17.4 mi away

2%67

Everywhere elseother towns and states

58%1,712

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

How far

How far Palmerton commutes

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

28%

46%

10%

15%

28%Under 10 mi

46%10–24 mi

10%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Palmerton is a commuter town

0.57jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Palmerton are

1,661 jobs are based in Palmerton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Palmerton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Palmerton

1,661 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)79%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month60%

Jobs Palmerton residents hold

2,931 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month64%

−30%

Jobs based in Palmerton, 2013 → 2023: 2,367 → 1,661. 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.