Photo: Adam Moss from East Amherst, New York, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Bear Lake has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
Only 2% stay in Bear Lake for work; outside it, Corry is the main destination (20%, 8 miles). Employers in Bear Lake report 26 jobs; 50 of its residents have a job. 0% of workers have no commute at all, against 16% across Pennsylvania.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The workday shuffle in and out of Bear Lake
On a workday 49 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 25 people come in from elsewhere.
About 120 people are in Bear Lake on a workday afternoon, 17% 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 people from Bear Lake work
Where Bear Lake clocks in
20% of workers
14% of workers
6% 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.
Goods jobs make up 54% of work in Bear Lake
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bear Lake, 2013 → 2023: 2 → 26. 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 Bear Lake’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 27 minutes each way for Bear Lake’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bear Lake workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 51 commuters (the 0% who work from home are left out). Across Pennsylvania: 81% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How many miles Bear Lake commutes
About 22% 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.
How Bear Lake compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bear Lake workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Lake | – | — | — | 27 min | $38,750 |
| Freehold Township | under 2% | D | D | 29 min | $57,279 |
| Columbus Township | under 2% | B− | C− | 29 min | $73,417 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bear Lake’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
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 Bear Lake: questions
What is the median household income in Bear Lake?
$38,750 (±$13,933) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bear Lake?
12.1%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bear Lake?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 0% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bear Lake work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Corry (20%, 8 mi), Warren (14%, 21 mi), Erie (6%, 31 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Bear Lake without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 13% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bear Lake, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bear Lake
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.