Work & commute · State College

Work & commute in State College, PA

Most working residents leave State College for work: only 13% work in town. The top destinations are College (24%), Ferguson (6%) and Patton (3%). Half commute less than 20 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

13%

882 of 7,050 working residents

Typical commute

20 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

16 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

15%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 6,168 State College residents head out of town to work, 882 work right here, and 8,225 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in State College.

6,168live here, work elsewhere

882live and work here

8,225work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where State College goes to work

College2.6 mi away

24%1,661

State College (in town)right here

13%882

Ferguson5.5 mi away

6%394

Patton4.1 mi away

3%216

Philadelphia153.1 mi away

2%118

Pittsburgh113.7 mi away

1%103

Derry72.8 mi away

1%79

Altoona34.6 mi away

1%66

Bellefonte9.7 mi away

1%57

Mahoning66.7 mi away

1%56

Everywhere elseother towns and states

48%3,418

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

How far

How far State College commutes

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

48%

44%

48%Under 10 mi

3%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

44%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

State College is balanced between jobs and homes

1.29jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.29 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in State College are

9,107 jobs are based in State College. Here is what they are, next to the jobs State College’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in State College

9,107 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)1%

Trade, transport & utilities10%

Services (health, schools, offices…)89%

$1,250 a month or less26%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month50%

Jobs State College residents hold

7,050 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)8%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)74%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−9%

Jobs based in State College, 2013 → 2023: 10,046 → 9,107. 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.