Photo: Vasiliy Meshko · CC BY-SA 3.0How Laurel Run works: jobs, income and commuting
The trip to work takes 22 minutes on average (Pennsylvania 26, U.S. 26). 6% of workers have no commute at all, next to 16% for Pennsylvania as a whole. Hardly any work in Laurel Run; the top destination outside it is Wilkes-Barre (15%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Laurel Run, in brief
How far Laurel Run’s workers travel
About 18% 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Laurel Run
On a workday 205 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 129 people come in from elsewhere.
About 500 people are in Laurel Run on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.63 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.
Where Laurel Run’s working residents head each day
Where Laurel Run clocks in
15% 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.
Jobs in Laurel Run: what the 130 are
130 jobs are based in Laurel Run.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Laurel Run, 2013 → 2023: 209 → 130. 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 Laurel Run’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 22 minutes each way, quicker than most of Pennsylvania
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Laurel Run workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 199 commuters (the 6% 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.
Work in the towns next to Laurel Run
The biggest share goes to Wilkes-Barre Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Laurel Run workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurel Run | – | — | — | 22 min | $58,542 |
| Wilkes-Barre Township | 4% | B+ | A− | 24 min | $67,656 |
| Georgetown | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Bear Creek Township | under 2% | B | D− | 30 min | $88,333 |
Same-state neighbors only. Georgetown: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Laurel Run’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 Laurel Run: questions
What is the median household income in Laurel Run?
$58,542 (±$17,450) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Laurel Run?
32.8%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Laurel Run?
22 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Laurel Run work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wilkes-Barre (15%, 2 mi), Plains Township (12%, 4 mi), Kingston (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Laurel Run 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 Laurel Run, from the people who make the trip.
More of Laurel Run
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.