Photo: Patrick Nouhailler's… · CC BY-SA 3.0Jobs and the daily commute in South Bethany
47% of workers have no commute at all, next to 15% for Delaware as a whole. Only 2% stay in South Bethany for work; outside it, Bethany Beach is the main destination (8%, 2 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 30 minutes, next to 26 for Delaware and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
South Bethany by day and by night
On a workday 107 residents head out to work, 2 work right here, and 167 people come in from elsewhere.
About 600 people are in South Bethany on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
1.6 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Where South Bethany’s workforce comes from
Where South Bethany clocks in
8% of workers
7% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
169 jobs are based in South Bethany.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in South Bethany, 2013 → 2023: 130 → 169. 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.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs South Bethany’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from South Bethany takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of South Bethany workers work from home, vs 15% across Delaware. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 87 commuters (the 47% who work from home are left out). Across Delaware: 84% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
South Bethany’s commute, mile by mile
About 46% 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.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in South Bethany: questions
What is the median household income in South Bethany?
$116,875 (±$3,509) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $84,954 across Delaware and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in South Bethany?
4.6%, against 10.4% across Delaware and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from South Bethany?
30 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Delaware and 26 nationally. 47% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in South Bethany work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bethany Beach (8%, 2 mi), Dover (7%, 51 mi), Wilmington (5%, 88 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around South Bethany without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from South Bethany, from the people who make the trip.
More of South Bethany
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.