Photo: CyberXRef · CC BY-SA 3.0How Fullerton works: jobs, income and commuting
The average commute takes 25 minutes each way, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. For 8% of workers, the job is at home, against 16% across Pennsylvania. Only 4% work in Fullerton; the top destination outside it is Allentown (13%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Fullerton apart on work
The better-paid jobs are outside Fullerton
62% of Fullerton residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 37% of the jobs based in Fullerton pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
47% of the jobs in Fullerton are in trade, transport and utilities, against 26% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Fullerton draws workers from far and wide
The 5,286 jobs in Fullerton are filled from a wide area. Fullerton’s own residents hold 5% and the ten next-biggest home towns 33%; the other 62% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Most Fullerton residents work close to home
62% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
Many jobs in Fullerton pay little
27% of the jobs based in Fullerton pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 35% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
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.
What the 5,286 jobs in Fullerton are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fullerton, 2013 → 2023: 6,220 → 5,286. 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 Fullerton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The places Fullerton commutes to
Where Fullerton clocks in
13% of workers
8% of workers
7% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Fullerton
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.
Fullerton by day and by night
On a workday 7,672 residents head out to work, 290 work right here, and 4,996 people come in from elsewhere.
About 14,000 people are in Fullerton on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.66 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.
The daily trip from Fullerton: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fullerton workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,308 commuters (the 8% 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.
The towns next door employ 20% of Fullerton
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fullerton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fullerton | – | — | — | 25 min | $69,317 |
| Allentown | 13% | C− | A+ | 25 min | $55,494 |
| Catasauqua | under 3% | B− | A | 24 min | $85,049 |
| Hanover Township | 3% | B− | A | 20 min | $55,652 |
| South Whitehall Township | 4% | A− | B | 21 min | $102,872 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Allentown. Darker towns draw more of Fullerton’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 Fullerton: questions
What is the median household income in Fullerton?
$69,317 (±$8,967) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fullerton?
15.8%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fullerton?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fullerton work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Allentown (13%, 3 mi), Bethlehem (8%, 6 mi), Upper Macungie Township (7%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Fullerton without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fullerton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fullerton
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.