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Work & commute in Refton · A commuter town

100% of Refton’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Refton for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Lancaster (9%), Strasburg (9%) and East Hempfield (6%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Work in town
0%
0 of 139 working residents
Typical commute
10 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Work from home
24%
More than PA (16%)
Jobs based here
51
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Refton?

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

★ What stands out · The commute map

9% of working residents work in Lancaster

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

Strasburg: 5 residents work here (4%)Lancaster: 13 residents work here (9%)Philadelphia: 4 residents work here (3%)East Hempfield: 8 residents work here (6%)Lower WindsorEast CocalicoSalisbury: 5 residents work here (4%)West Lampeter: 7 residents work here (5%)PequeaProvidenceConestogaEast Lampeter: 7 residents work here (5%)Leacock: 6 residents work here (4%)Strasburg: 13 residents work here (9%)Manheim: 7 residents work here (5%)ReftonLancasterStrasburgEast HempfieldWest LampeterEast LampeterManheimRefton
1
Lancaster7.2 mi away
9%13
2
Strasburg2.8 mi away
9%13
3
East Hempfield11.9 mi away
6%8
4
West Lampeter3.2 mi away
5%7
5
East Lampeter6.4 mi away
5%7
6
Manheim10.3 mi away
5%7
7
Leacock9.3 mi away
4%6
8
Strasburg3.9 mi away
4%5
9
Salisbury14.6 mi away
4%5
10
Philadelphia58.9 mi away
3%4
Everywhere elseother towns and states
46%64
The top trips

Where Refton clocks in

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

Time on the road

Working from home in Refton

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

Working from home
24%

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

About 2 in 10
Day and night

Refton quiets down on a workday

On a workday 139 residents head out to work, 0 work right here, and 51 people come in from elsewhere.

139live here, work elsewhere
0live and work here
51work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night320
Workday230
320live here− 140head out to work+ 51come in to work= 230on a workday

About 230 people are in Refton on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.37jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.37 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 Refton commutes less than 10 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 mi70 miLancaster: 9% · 7.2 miStrasburg: 9% · 2.8 miEast Hempfield: 6% · 11.9 miWest Lampeter: 5% · 3.2 miEast Lampeter: 5% · 6.4 miManheim: 5% · 10.3 miLeacock: 4% · 9.3 miStrasburg: 4% · 3.9 miSalisbury: 4% · 14.6 miPhiladelphia: 3% · 58.9 miLancaster 9%Strasburg 9%East Hempfield 6%West Lampeter 5%East Lampeter 5%Refton
ReftonTop destinations (size = commuters)
50%Under 10 mi69 residents
29%10–24 mi40 residents
11%25–50 mi15 residents
10%Over 50 mi14 residents

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

The jobs

Mostly services: health care, schools and offices

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

Jobs based in ReftonJobs Refton residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms10%20%
Trade, transport & utilities0%29%
Services: health, schools, offices90%50%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less14%18%
$1,251–$3,333 a month20%24%
Over $3,333 a month67%58%

Who does it

29 or younger25%26%
30 to 5443%46%
55 and older31%28%
+155%

Jobs based in Refton, 2013 → 2023: 20 → 51. 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.

Next door

14% of Refton works in a bordering town

The biggest share goes to Strasburg (9%). Darker towns draw more of Refton’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 Refton

Refton home →

Commuter talk

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

Town Square →
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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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