Work & commute · Upper Darby

Work & commute in Upper Darby, PA

Most working residents leave Upper Darby for work: only 7% work in town. The top destinations are Philadelphia (31%), Lower Merion (5%) and Upper Merion (3%). Half commute less than 7 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

2,788 of 37,239 working residents

Typical commute

7 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

32 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

13%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 34,451 Upper Darby residents head out of town to work, 2,788 work right here, and 14,266 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Upper Darby.

34,451live here, work elsewhere

2,788live and work here

14,266work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Upper Darby goes to work

Philadelphia9.2 mi away

31%11,645

Upper Darby (in town)right here

7%2,788

Lower Merion5.6 mi away

5%1,939

Upper Merion10.9 mi away

3%996

Haverford3 mi away

2%845

Tredyffrin11.8 mi away

2%740

Marple4.1 mi away

2%738

Radnor6.8 mi away

2%666

Newtown7.1 mi away

2%648

Springfield2.9 mi away

2%631

Everywhere elseother towns and states

42%15,603

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

How far

How far Upper Darby commutes

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

66%

23%

66%Under 10 mi

23%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

7%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Upper Darby 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 Upper Darby are

17,054 jobs are based in Upper Darby. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Upper Darby’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Upper Darby

17,054 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities28%

Services (health, schools, offices…)66%

$1,250 a month or less20%

$1,251–$3,333 a month31%

Over $3,333 a month49%

Jobs Upper Darby residents hold

37,239 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)75%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month26%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−0%

Jobs based in Upper Darby, 2013 → 2023: 17,134 → 17,054. 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.