Making a living in Lawnton
Only 3% stay in Lawnton for work; outside it, Harrisburg is the main destination (14%, 5 miles). Commuters spend 17 minutes getting to work on average, where Pennsylvania has 26 and the U.S. 26. Employers in Lawnton report 2,956 jobs; 2,211 of its residents have a job.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Lawnton: the gist
Jobs in Lawnton have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Lawnton went from 1,324 in 2014 to 2,956 in 2024, +123%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Lawnton are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Lawnton residents work close to home
64% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Nearly all the work in Lawnton is services
89% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 7% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Most jobs in Lawnton pay over $40,000 a year
74% of the jobs based in Lawnton pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Services make up most of the work in Lawnton
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lawnton, 2014 → 2024: 1,324 → 2,956. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Lawnton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 17 minutes each way for Lawnton’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lawnton workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,726 commuters (the 21% 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 far it is to work from Lawnton
About 17% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The daily commute in and out of Lawnton
On a workday 2,138 residents head out to work, 73 work right here, and 2,883 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,500 people are in Lawnton on a workday afternoon, 16% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.34 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Lawnton’s residents
Where Lawnton clocks in
14% 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.
How Lawnton compares with the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lawnton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawnton | – | — | — | 17 min | $84,861 |
| Rutherford | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Rutherford: 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 Lawnton’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 2024, 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 Lawnton: questions
What is the median household income in Lawnton?
$84,861 (±$14,001) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lawnton?
2.5%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lawnton?
17 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lawnton work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Harrisburg (14%, 5 mi), Lower Paxton Township (10%, 4 mi), Swatara Township (9%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Can you get around Lawnton without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lawnton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lawnton
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.