Work & commute · Wilson

Work & commute in Wilson, PA

Most working residents leave Wilson for work: only 4% work in town. The top destinations are Palmer (8%), Bethlehem (7%) and Easton (6%). Half commute less than 12 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

144 of 3,572 working residents

Typical commute

12 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

25 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 3,428 Wilson residents head out of town to work, 144 work right here, and 1,796 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Wilson.

3,428live here, work elsewhere

144live and work here

1,796work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Wilson goes to work

Palmer1.6 mi away

8%279

Bethlehem7.7 mi away

7%261

Easton1.2 mi away

6%213

Allentown13.9 mi away

5%165

Wilson (in town)right here

4%144

Forks3.6 mi away

4%129

Upper Macungie21.6 mi away

3%122

Bethlehem4 mi away

3%119

Lower Nazareth4.5 mi away

3%110

Hanover8.2 mi away

3%103

Everywhere elseother towns and states

54%1,927

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

How far

How far Wilson commutes

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

46%

22%

15%

17%

46%Under 10 mi

22%10–24 mi

15%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Wilson is a commuter town

0.54jobs per working resident

A commuter town

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

The jobs

What the jobs in Wilson are

1,940 jobs are based in Wilson. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Wilson’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Wilson

1,940 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)7%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)78%

$1,250 a month or less17%

$1,251–$3,333 a month30%

Over $3,333 a month53%

Jobs Wilson residents hold

3,572 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)17%

Trade, transport & utilities26%

Services (health, schools, offices…)57%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month60%

−41%

Jobs based in Wilson, 2013 → 2023: 3,308 → 1,940. 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.