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Work & commute in Pen Mar · A commuter town

100% of Pen Mar’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Pen Mar for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Waynesboro (9%), Washington (6%) and Frederick (6%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Work in town
0%
0 of 385 working residents
Typical commute
20 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
27 min
More than PA (26 min)
Work from home
15%
Less than PA (16%)
Jobs based here
10
A commuter town
Work out of state
36%
mostly Maryland

What kind of work town is Pen Mar?

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

★ What stands out · The commute map

9% of working residents work in Waynesboro

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

Thurmont: 10 residents work here (3%)Hagerstown: 14 residents work here (4%)Frederick: 22 residents work here (6%)Baltimore: 7 residents work here (2%)GreencastleWaynesboro: 33 residents work here (9%)CarlisleChambersburg: 17 residents work here (4%)Guilford: 9 residents work here (2%)Washington: 23 residents work here (6%)FranklinAntrim: 7 residents work here (2%)Greene: 8 residents work here (2%)Highfield-CascadeRouzervillePen MarWaynesboroWashingtonFrederickChambersburgHagerstownThurmontPen Mar
1
Waynesboro4 mi away
9%33
2
Washington2.8 mi away
6%23
3
Frederick, MD20.6 mi away
6%22
4
Chambersburg16 mi away
4%17
5
Hagerstown, MD12.6 mi away
4%14
6
Thurmont, MD9.3 mi away
3%10
7
Guilford11.8 mi away
2%9
8
Greene16 mi away
2%8
9
Baltimore, MD56.5 mi away
2%7
10
Antrim11.3 mi away
2%7
Everywhere elseother towns and states
61%235
The top trips

Where Pen Mar clocks in

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

Day and night

Pen Mar quiets down on a workday

On a workday 385 residents head out to work, 0 work right here, and 10 people come in from elsewhere.

385live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
10work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night1,200
Workday800
1,200live here− 390head out to work+ 10come in to work= 800on a workday

About 800 people are in Pen Mar on a workday afternoon, 32% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.03jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.03 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 Pen Mar commutes less than 20 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 mi65 miWaynesboro: 9% · 4 miWashington: 6% · 2.8 miFrederick: 6% · 20.6 miChambersburg: 4% · 16 miHagerstown: 4% · 12.6 miThurmont: 3% · 9.3 miGuilford: 2% · 11.8 miGreene: 2% · 16 miBaltimore: 2% · 56.5 miAntrim: 2% · 11.3 miWaynesboro 9%Washington 6%Frederick 6%Chambersburg 4%Hagerstown 4%Pen Mar
Pen MarTop destinations (size = commuters)
24%Under 10 mi88 residents
34%10–24 mi123 residents
13%25–50 mi47 residents
28%Over 50 mi102 residents

About 28% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

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

The jobs

70% of the jobs in Pen Mar pay over $3,333 a month

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

Jobs based in Pen MarJobs Pen Mar residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms20%21%
Trade, transport & utilities20%21%
Services: health, schools, offices60%59%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less0%17%
$1,251–$3,333 a month30%23%
Over $3,333 a month70%60%

Who does it

29 or younger10%22%
30 to 5470%51%
55 and older20%27%
+400%

Jobs based in Pen Mar, 2013 → 2023: 2 → 10. 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 27 minutes each way, about the PA average

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

A year of commuting
203 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Pen Mar27 min
Pennsylvania26 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
15%

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

About 2 in 10
Next door

Pen Mar and the towns next door

The biggest share goes to Washington (6%). Darker towns draw more of Pen Mar’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Pen Mar27 min
Washington27 min
Rouzerville32 min
Highfield-Cascade36 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 Pen Mar

Pen Mar home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Pen Mar, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
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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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