Work & commute · Swatara

Work & commute in Swatara, PA

Most working residents leave Swatara for work: only 9% work in town. The top destinations are Harrisburg (13%), Lower Paxton (10%) and Derry (8%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

1,104 of 12,099 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

20 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 10,995 Swatara residents head out of town to work, 1,104 work right here, and 17,267 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Swatara.

10,995live here, work elsewhere

1,104live and work here

17,267work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Swatara goes to work

Harrisburg4.7 mi away

13%1,582

Lower Paxton4.9 mi away

10%1,160

Swatara (in town)right here

9%1,104

Derry8.1 mi away

8%1,023

Susquehanna5.9 mi away

5%647

Lower Swatara3.1 mi away

4%460

Hampden9.3 mi away

3%418

Lower Allen7 mi away

3%323

East Pennsboro7.4 mi away

2%251

Philadelphia89.8 mi away

2%210

Everywhere elseother towns and states

41%4,921

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

How far

How far Swatara commutes

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

62%

15%

17%

62%Under 10 mi

15%10–24 mi

6%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Swatara is a job hub

1.52jobs per working resident

A job hub

1.5 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Swatara are

18,371 jobs are based in Swatara. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Swatara’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Swatara

18,371 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)9%

Trade, transport & utilities37%

Services (health, schools, offices…)54%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month63%

Jobs Swatara residents hold

12,099 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)10%

Trade, transport & utilities24%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−9%

Jobs based in Swatara, 2013 → 2023: 20,180 → 18,371. 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.