Guest, Sign inJoin
Work & commute in West Nanticoke · A commuter town

99% of West Nanticoke’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave West Nanticoke for work: only 1% work in town. The top destinations are Wilkes-Barre (15%), Hanover (7%) and Kingston (6%). Half commute less than 9 miles.

Work in town
1%
3 of 220 working residents
Typical commute
9 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
27 min
More than PA (26 min)
Work from home
5%
Less than PA (16%)
Jobs based here
97
A commuter town

What kind of work town is West Nanticoke?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

15% of working residents work in Wilkes-Barre

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

Luzerne: 5 residents work here (2%)AshleyKingston: 14 residents work here (6%)Nanticoke: 10 residents work here (5%)Harveys LakeWilkes-Barre: 34 residents work here (15%)Wilkes-Barre: 5 residents work here (2%)Plymouth: 5 residents work here (2%)Jenkins: 7 residents work here (3%)HunlockHanover: 16 residents work here (7%)LakeDallas: 5 residents work here (2%)NewportPlains: 14 residents work here (6%)West NanticokeWilkes-BarreHanoverKingstonPlainsNanticokeJenkinsWest Nanticoke
1
Wilkes-Barre7.2 mi away
15%34
2
Hanover3.7 mi away
7%16
3
Kingston7.1 mi away
6%14
4
Plains10.6 mi away
6%14
5
Nanticoke1.4 mi away
5%10
6
Jenkins14.1 mi away
3%7
7
Luzerne7.4 mi away
2%5
8
Wilkes-Barre7.8 mi away
2%5
9
Plymouth1.5 mi away
2%5
10
Dallas9.7 mi away
2%5
Everywhere elseother towns and states
48%105
The top trips

Where West Nanticoke clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Day and night

West Nanticoke quiets down on a workday

On a workday 217 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 94 people come in from elsewhere.

217live here, work elsewhere
3live and work here
94work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night630
Workday510
630live here− 220head out to work+ 94come in to work= 510on a workday

About 510 people are in West Nanticoke on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.44jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.44 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.

How far

Half of West Nanticoke commutes less than 9 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi30 miWilkes-Barre: 15% · 7.2 miHanover: 7% · 3.7 miKingston: 6% · 7.1 miPlains: 6% · 10.6 miNanticoke: 5% · 1.4 miJenkins: 3% · 14.1 miLuzerne: 2% · 7.4 miWilkes-Barre: 2% · 7.8 miPlymouth: 2% · 1.5 miDallas: 2% · 9.7 miWilkes-Barre 15%Hanover 7%Kingston 6%Plains 6%Nanticoke 5%West Nanticoke
West NanticokeTop destinations (size = commuters)
54%Under 10 mi118 residents
17%10–24 mi38 residents
9%25–50 mi20 residents
20%Over 50 mi44 residents

About 20% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.

Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.

The jobs

What the 97 jobs in West Nanticoke are

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

Jobs based in West NanticokeJobs West Nanticoke residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms1%14%
Trade, transport & utilities69%28%
Services: health, schools, offices30%58%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less58%13%
$1,251–$3,333 a month26%30%
Over $3,333 a month16%57%

Who does it

29 or younger34%21%
30 to 5438%47%
55 and older28%32%
+54%

Jobs based in West Nanticoke, 2013 → 2023: 63 → 97. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.

Time on the road

About 27 minutes each way, about the PA average

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
210 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

West Nanticoke27 min
Pennsylvania26 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
5%

of West Nanticoke workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.

About 1 in 10
Next door

West Nanticoke and the towns next door

The biggest share goes to Nanticoke (5%). Darker towns draw more of West Nanticoke’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

Nanticoke21 min
Plymouth25 min
West Nanticoke27 min
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The 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 says. A 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 surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of West Nanticoke

West Nanticoke home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from West Nanticoke, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from West Nanticoke worth it?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Ask neighbors

Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer.

Post to West Nanticoke

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in