Work & commute · West Hazleton

Work & commute in West Hazleton, PA

Most working residents leave West Hazleton for work: only 8% work in town. The top destinations are Hazle (28%), Hazleton (8%) and East Union (5%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

156 of 1,975 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,819 West Hazleton residents head out of town to work, 156 work right here, and 4,401 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Hazleton.

1,819live here, work elsewhere

156live and work here

4,401work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Hazleton goes to work

Hazle1.2 mi away

28%546

Hazleton3.2 mi away

8%157

West Hazleton (in town)right here

8%156

East Union8 mi away

5%89

Wright12.1 mi away

2%44

Butler5.1 mi away

2%36

Sugarloaf3.7 mi away

2%32

Wilkes-Barre20.4 mi away

2%30

Upper Macungie35 mi away

1%27

Wyalusing51 mi away

1%25

Everywhere elseother towns and states

42%833

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

How far

How far West Hazleton commutes

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

55%

13%

15%

17%

55%Under 10 mi

13%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Hazleton is a job hub

2.31jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in West Hazleton are

4,557 jobs are based in West Hazleton. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Hazleton’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Hazleton

4,557 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)31%

Trade, transport & utilities23%

Services (health, schools, offices…)46%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs West Hazleton residents hold

1,975 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)26%

Trade, transport & utilities35%

Services (health, schools, offices…)39%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month37%

Over $3,333 a month49%

−15%

Jobs based in West Hazleton, 2013 → 2023: 5,341 → 4,557. 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.