Work & commute · West Reading

Work & commute in West Reading, PA

Most working residents leave West Reading for work: only 11% work in town. The top destinations are Reading (13%), Wyomissing (8%) and Spring (5%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

11%

221 of 2,005 working residents

Typical commute

5 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 1,784 West Reading residents head out of town to work, 221 work right here, and 8,020 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in West Reading.

1,784live here, work elsewhere

221live and work here

8,020work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where West Reading goes to work

Reading1.1 mi away

13%254

West Reading (in town)right here

11%221

Wyomissing1 mi away

8%151

Spring4.9 mi away

5%98

Muhlenberg4.4 mi away

4%79

Cumru4.2 mi away

3%63

Maxatawny17 mi away

3%56

Exeter6 mi away

3%53

Bern5.2 mi away

2%49

Philadelphia48.5 mi away

2%37

Everywhere elseother towns and states

47%944

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

How far

How far West Reading commutes

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

55%

16%

19%

55%Under 10 mi

16%10–24 mi

19%25–50 mi

9%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

West Reading is a job hub

4.11jobs per working resident

A job hub

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

The jobs

What the jobs in West Reading are

8,241 jobs are based in West Reading. Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Reading’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in West Reading

8,241 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)6%

Trade, transport & utilities4%

Services (health, schools, offices…)90%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month19%

Over $3,333 a month71%

Jobs West Reading residents hold

2,005 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)19%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less14%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month62%

+98%

Jobs based in West Reading, 2013 → 2023: 4,158 → 8,241. 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.