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Work & commute in Woodlyn · A commuter town

97% of Woodlyn’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Woodlyn for work: only 3% work in town. The top destinations are Philadelphia (20%), Ridley (8%) and Lower Merion (3%). Half commute less than 10 miles.

Work in town
3%
138 of 4,609 working residents
Typical commute
10 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
25 min
Less than PA (26 min)
Work from home
13%
Less than PA (16%)
Jobs based here
2,151
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Woodlyn?

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

★ What stands out · The commute map

20% of working residents work in Philadelphia

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

Media: 108 residents work here (2%)EddystoneRidley ParkSwarthmoreChester: 100 residents work here (2%)Philadelphia: 941 residents work here (20%)HaverfordMiddletown: 91 residents work here (2%)AstonLower Merion: 141 residents work here (3%)Upper ChichesterUpper Darby: 105 residents work here (2%)Ridley: 366 residents work here (8%)Springfield: 121 residents work here (3%)Nether ProvidenceMarple: 84 residents work here (2%)Upper Merion: 89 residents work here (2%)FolsomWoodlynPhiladelphiaRidleyLower MerionSpringfieldMediaUpper DarbyWoodlyn
1
Philadelphia14.4 mi away
20%941
2
Ridley1.2 mi away
8%366
3
Lower Merion11 mi away
3%141
4
Springfield3.6 mi away
3%121
5
Media3.8 mi away
2%108
6
Upper Darby5.8 mi away
2%105
7
Chester2.6 mi away
2%100
8
Middletown5.1 mi away
2%91
9
Upper Merion14.8 mi away
2%89
10
Marple6.2 mi away
2%84
Everywhere elseother towns and states
53%2,463
The top trips

Where Woodlyn clocks in

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

The jobs

What the 2,151 jobs in Woodlyn are

2,151 jobs are based in Woodlyn. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Woodlyn’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in WoodlynJobs Woodlyn residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms6%11%
Trade, transport & utilities15%20%
Services: health, schools, offices78%69%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less20%14%
$1,251–$3,333 a month32%21%
Over $3,333 a month49%65%

Who does it

29 or younger22%22%
30 to 5452%53%
55 and older26%25%
+49%

Jobs based in Woodlyn, 2013 → 2023: 1,441 → 2,151. 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.

Day and night

Woodlyn quiets down on a workday

On a workday 4,471 residents head out to work, 138 work right here, and 2,013 people come in from elsewhere.

4,471live here, work elsewhere
138live and work here
2,013work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night9,700
Workday7,300
9,700live here− 4,500head out to work+ 2,000come in to work= 7,300on a workday

About 7,300 people are in Woodlyn on a workday afternoon, 25% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.47jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.47 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 Woodlyn commutes less than 10 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 miPhiladelphia: 20% · 14.4 miRidley: 8% · 1.2 miLower Merion: 3% · 11 miSpringfield: 3% · 3.6 miMedia: 2% · 3.8 miUpper Darby: 2% · 5.8 miChester: 2% · 2.6 miMiddletown: 2% · 5.1 miUpper Merion: 2% · 14.8 miMarple: 2% · 6.2 miPhiladelphia 20%Ridley 8%Lower Merion 3%Springfield 3%Media 2%Woodlyn
WoodlynTop destinations (size = commuters)
52%Under 10 mi2,362 residents
35%10–24 mi1,570 residents
5%25–50 mi244 residents
7%Over 50 mi333 residents

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

Time on the road

About 25 minutes each way, about the PA average

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

A year of commuting
195 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Woodlyn25 min
Pennsylvania26 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
13%

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

About 1 in 10
Next door

13% of Woodlyn works in a bordering town

The biggest share goes to Ridley (8%). Darker towns draw more of Woodlyn’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

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 Woodlyn

Woodlyn home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Woodlyn, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
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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.

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