Work & commute · Salem

Work & commute in Salem, PA

Most working residents leave Salem for work: only 10% work in town. The top destinations are Berwick (16%), South Centre (5%) and Mahoning (5%). Half commute less than 15 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

10%

167 of 1,697 working residents

Typical commute

15 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

29 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

20%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,530 Salem residents head out of town to work, 167 work right here, and 2,095 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Salem.

1,530live here, work elsewhere

167live and work here

2,095work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Salem goes to work

Berwick5 mi away

16%275

Salem (in town)right here

10%167

South Centre10.3 mi away

5%85

Mahoning23.8 mi away

5%81

Bloomsburg15.9 mi away

4%73

Wilkes-Barre18.7 mi away

3%51

Briar Creek6.5 mi away

3%49

Scott13.3 mi away

3%48

Hazle13.5 mi away

2%36

Philadelphia93.7 mi away

2%33

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%799

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

How far

How far Salem commutes

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

37%

33%

13%

17%

37%Under 10 mi

33%10–24 mi

13%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Salem is balanced between jobs and homes

1.33jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.33 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Salem are

2,262 jobs are based in Salem. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Salem’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Salem

2,262 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)22%

Trade, transport & utilities58%

Services (health, schools, offices…)20%

$1,250 a month or less4%

$1,251–$3,333 a month15%

Over $3,333 a month81%

Jobs Salem residents hold

1,697 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)21%

Trade, transport & utilities25%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+3%

Jobs based in Salem, 2013 → 2023: 2,204 → 2,262. 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.