Work & commute · Plainfield

Work & commute in Plainfield, PA

Most working residents leave Plainfield for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Bethlehem (4%), Palmer (4%) and Allentown (4%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

143 of 2,914 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

24 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 2,771 Plainfield residents head out of town to work, 143 work right here, and 1,186 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Plainfield.

2,771live here, work elsewhere

143live and work here

1,186work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Plainfield goes to work

Plainfield (in town)right here

5%143

Bethlehem14.4 mi away

4%129

Palmer8.1 mi away

4%116

Allentown19.3 mi away

4%112

Forks6.1 mi away

4%112

Lower Nazareth8.5 mi away

3%93

Hanover12.7 mi away

3%84

Bethlehem11 mi away

3%83

Wind Gap2.6 mi away

3%76

Easton9.4 mi away

3%76

Everywhere elseother towns and states

65%1,890

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

How far

How far Plainfield commutes

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

35%

37%

13%

15%

35%Under 10 mi

37%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

15%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Plainfield is a commuter town

0.46jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Plainfield are

1,329 jobs are based in Plainfield. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Plainfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Plainfield

1,329 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)12%

Trade, transport & utilities13%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less16%

$1,251–$3,333 a month23%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs Plainfield residents hold

2,914 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month66%

−5%

Jobs based in Plainfield, 2013 → 2023: 1,400 → 1,329. 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.