Work & commute · Philadelphia

Work & commute in Philadelphia, PA

58% of Philadelphia’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Lower Merion (2%), Bensalem (1%) and Upper Merion (1%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

58%

347,991 of 600,388 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

32 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 252,397 Philadelphia residents head out of town to work, 347,991 work right here, and 330,083 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Philadelphia.

252,397live here, work elsewhere

347,991live and work here

330,083work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Philadelphia goes to work

Philadelphia (in town)right here

58%347,991

Lower Merion7.8 mi away

2%13,498

Bensalem12 mi away

1%8,867

Upper Merion14.2 mi away

1%8,248

Abington7.3 mi away

1%6,592

New York, NY77.4 mi away

1%5,383

Tredyffrin17.2 mi away

1%5,158

Plymouth11.2 mi away

1%4,878

Horsham13.2 mi away

1%4,726

Upper Darby9.2 mi away

1%4,633

Everywhere elseother towns and states

32%190,414

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

How far

How far Philadelphia commutes

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

68%

21%

68%Under 10 mi

21%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Philadelphia is balanced between jobs and homes

1.13jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.13 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Philadelphia are

678,074 jobs are based in Philadelphia. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Philadelphia’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Philadelphia

678,074 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)5%

Trade, transport & utilities14%

Services (health, schools, offices…)81%

$1,250 a month or less11%

$1,251–$3,333 a month21%

Over $3,333 a month68%

Jobs Philadelphia residents hold

600,388 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)76%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+12%

Jobs based in Philadelphia, 2013 → 2023: 608,083 → 678,074. 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.