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Work & commute in Pennside · A commuter town

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

Most working residents leave Pennside for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Reading (12%), Exeter (6%) and Wyomissing (4%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Work in town
1%
34 of 2,691 working residents
Typical commute
9 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
28 min
More than PA (26 min)
Work from home
9%
Less than PA (16%)
Jobs based here
277
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Pennside?

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

★ What stands out · The commute map

12% 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.

Mount PennWest Reading: 85 residents work here (3%)St. Lawrence: 56 residents work here (2%)Wyomissing: 116 residents work here (4%)Reading: 319 residents work here (12%)Bern: 67 residents work here (2%)Spring: 80 residents work here (3%)Cumru: 85 residents work here (3%)AmityLower AlsaceMaidencreekMuhlenberg: 113 residents work here (4%)Exeter: 160 residents work here (6%)Maxatawny: 114 residents work here (4%)Stony Creek MillsPennsideReadingExeterWyomissingMaxatawnyMuhlenbergWest ReadingPennside
1
Reading2.6 mi away
12%319
2
Exeter2.7 mi away
6%160
3
Wyomissing4.7 mi away
4%116
4
Maxatawny14.7 mi away
4%114
5
Muhlenberg4.7 mi away
4%113
6
West Reading3.7 mi away
3%85
7
Cumru6.1 mi away
3%85
8
Spring8.5 mi away
3%80
9
Bern7.6 mi away
2%67
10
St. Lawrence1.1 mi away
2%56
Everywhere elseother towns and states
56%1,496
The top trips

Where Pennside clocks in

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

The jobs

What the 277 jobs in Pennside are

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

Jobs based in PennsideJobs Pennside residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms8%24%
Trade, transport & utilities34%22%
Services: health, schools, offices57%54%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less30%12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month29%24%
Over $3,333 a month42%64%

Who does it

29 or younger33%21%
30 to 5441%51%
55 and older26%28%
+33%

Jobs based in Pennside, 2013 → 2023: 209 → 277. 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.

Day and night

Pennside quiets down on a workday

On a workday 2,657 residents head out to work, 34 work right here, and 243 people come in from elsewhere.

2,657live here, work elsewhere
34live and work here
243work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night5,400
Workday3,000
5,400live here− 2,700head out to work+ 240come in to work= 3,000on a workday

About 3,000 people are in Pennside on a workday afternoon, 45% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.10jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.10 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 Pennside commutes less than 9 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 miReading: 12% · 2.6 miExeter: 6% · 2.7 miWyomissing: 4% · 4.7 miMaxatawny: 4% · 14.7 miMuhlenberg: 4% · 4.7 miWest Reading: 3% · 3.7 miCumru: 3% · 6.1 miSpring: 3% · 8.5 miBern: 2% · 7.6 miSt. Lawrence: 2% · 1.1 miReading 12%Exeter 6%Wyomissing 4%Maxatawny 4%Muhlenberg 4%Pennside
PennsideTop destinations (size = commuters)
51%Under 10 mi1,368 residents
22%10–24 mi578 residents
18%25–50 mi487 residents
9%Over 50 mi253 residents

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

Time on the road

About 28 minutes each way, about the PA average

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

A year of commuting
211 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Pennside28 min
Pennsylvania26 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
9%

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

About 1 in 10
Next door

Pennside and the towns next door

The biggest share goes to Exeter (6%). Darker towns draw more of Pennside’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 Pennside

Pennside home →

Commuter talk

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

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from Pennside 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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