Photo: Ichabod · CC BY-SA 3.0Most of Scranton commutes out: there are 0.1 jobs for every working resident
Commuters spend 29 minutes getting to work on average, next to 20 for Kansas and 26 for the U.S. 22 jobs are based in Scranton, against 350 working residents. Hardly any work in Scranton; the top destination outside it is Topeka (34%, 18 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Scranton, in a few figures
Scranton is a place people come home to
There are 22 jobs based in Scranton, about one for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Scranton has about 310 people in it, 51% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
One in three of Scranton works in Topeka
118 working residents, 34%, have their main job in Topeka, 18 miles away. That’s 34 times as many as work in Scranton itself. The commute map ↓
Scranton workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 20 across Kansas. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 350 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The workday shuffle in and out of Scranton
On a workday 347 residents head out to work, 3 work right here, and 19 people come in from elsewhere.
About 310 people are in Scranton on a workday afternoon, 51% fewer than live here.
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 Scranton’s working residents head each day
Where Scranton clocks in
34% of workers
5% of workers
3% 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.
About 29 minutes to work from Scranton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Scranton workers work from home, vs 12% across Kansas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 355 commuters (the 7% who work from home are left out). Across Kansas: 85% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Jobs in Scranton: what the 22 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Scranton, 2013 → 2023: 14 → 22. 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 Scranton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far it is to work from Scranton
About 31% 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 Scranton: questions
What is the median household income in Scranton?
$56,793 (±$3,964) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $74,275 across Kansas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Scranton?
18.4%, against 11.3% across Kansas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Scranton?
29 minutes each way on average, against 20 across Kansas and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Scranton work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Topeka (34%, 18 mi), Burlingame (5%, 5 mi), Lawrence (3%, 28 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Scranton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Scranton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Scranton
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.