Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0At 6.6%, unemployment in Bethlehem is higher than in 79% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 5.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 8.3 in Allentown. The two grades for Bethlehem are C+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. About one in five work in Bethlehem itself; outside it, Allentown draws the most (8%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Bethlehem
Bethlehem trades workers with the towns around it
Bethlehem has about as many jobs (39,738) as working residents (33,173), but they are mostly different people: 26,616 residents leave for work each day while 33,181 people come in. Only 17% of the jobs in Bethlehem are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Bethlehem draws workers from far and wide
The 39,738 jobs in Bethlehem are filled from a wide area. Bethlehem’s own residents hold 17% and the ten next-biggest home towns 27%; the other 56% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Inside Bethlehem’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Bethlehem is better than 39% of U.S. towns, #780 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Bethlehem’s grade up (ahead of 84% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bethlehem could be anywhere from C to B−.
The daily commute in and out of Bethlehem
On a workday 26,616 residents head out to work, 6,557 work right here, and 33,181 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.20 per resident).
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 Bethlehem’s working residents head each day
Where Bethlehem clocks in
8% of workers
4% of workers
4% 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.
65% of the jobs in Bethlehem pay over $3,333 a month
39,738 jobs are based in Bethlehem.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bethlehem, 2013 → 2023: 34,607 → 39,738. 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 Bethlehem’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 22 minutes each way for Bethlehem’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bethlehem workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 30,937 commuters (the 17% 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.
Where in the region Bethlehem works
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.
Bethlehem is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Bethlehem is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #89 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Bethlehem near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 37,346 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 97% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 61% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 86% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.7% of Bethlehem households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Bethlehem’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 566 U.S. towns of 56,000 to 108,000, Bethlehem comes 448th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Plymouth MN | 78,942 | $137K | 4.3% | 2.3% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 92 | Lower Merion Township PA | 64,691 | $177K | 6.3% | 4.9% | 13% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 199 | Abington Township PA | 58,656 | $104K | 7.5% | 5.7% | 9% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 290 | Bensalem Township PA | 62,783 | $85K | 11.9% | 4.8% | 15% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 446 | Great Falls MT | 60,208 | $63K | 14.5% | 3.7% | 69% | C+ |
| 447 | Concord Township IN | 56,145 | $55K | 16.5% | 3.9% | 25% | C+ |
| 448 | Bethlehem PA | 79,644 | $69K | 15.7% | 6.6% | 20% | C+ |
| 449 | Texas City TX | 59,733 | $69K | 16.2% | 6.5% | 17% | C+ |
| 450 | Gastonia NC | 87,067 | $64K | 16.3% | 5.7% | 23% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 566 | Albany GA | 66,907 | $47K | 27.5% | 11.2% | 51% | D |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Bethlehem, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
The towns next door employ 21% of Bethlehem
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bethlehem workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem | – | C+ | A+ | 22 min | $68,879 |
| Hanover Township | 4% | B+ | A− | 25 min | $107,458 |
| Lower Saucon Township | under 2% | A | B | 27 min | $124,892 |
| Hellertown | under 2% | B | A | 26 min | $72,813 |
| Hanover Township | 2% | B− | A | 20 min | $55,652 |
| Bethlehem Township | 4% | A | A− | 26 min | $119,050 |
| Freemansburg | under 2% | B+ | B | 20 min | $88,750 |
| Salisbury Township | 3% | B+ | B+ | 24 min | $101,299 |
| Middletown | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Allentown | 8% | C− | A+ | 25 min | $55,494 |
Same-state neighbors only. Middletown: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Allentown. Darker towns draw more of Bethlehem’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 Bethlehem: questions
What is the median household income in Bethlehem?
$68,879 (±$3,531) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bethlehem?
15.7%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bethlehem?
22 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 17% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bethlehem work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Allentown (8%, 6 mi), Upper Macungie Township (4%, 14 mi), Bethlehem Township (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Bethlehem walkable?
Bethlehem is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.7 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bethlehem without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. 61% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bethlehem, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bethlehem
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.