Most of Middletown commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
The average commute takes 25 minutes each way; Pennsylvania averages 26, the U.S. 26. Employers in Middletown report 1,575 jobs, and 3,547 of its residents work somewhere. 18% of workers have no commute at all, next to 16% for Pennsylvania as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Middletown, in a few figures
The better-paid jobs are outside Middletown
65% of Middletown residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 34% of the jobs based in Middletown pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 98% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
42% of the jobs in Middletown are in trade, transport and utilities, against 23% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Middletown pay little
26% of the jobs based in Middletown pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 30% 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 Middletown’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Middletown, 2013 → 2023: 1,179 → 1,575. 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 Middletown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Middletown
On a workday 3,489 residents head out to work, 58 work right here, and 1,517 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,700 people are in Middletown on a workday afternoon, 26% 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.
14% of working residents work in Bethlehem
Where Middletown clocks in
14% of workers
9% 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.
About 25 minutes each way, about the PA average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Middletown workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,227 commuters (the 18% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Middletown
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.
14% of Middletown works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Middletown workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middletown | – | — | — | 25 min | $97,607 |
| Freemansburg | under 3% | B+ | B | 20 min | $88,750 |
| Bethlehem | 14% | C+ | A+ | 22 min | $68,879 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Bethlehem. Darker towns draw more of Middletown’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 Middletown: questions
What is the median household income in Middletown?
$97,607 (±$13,810) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Middletown?
8.8%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Middletown?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Middletown work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bethlehem (14%, 3 mi), Bethlehem Township (9%, 2 mi), Allentown (7%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Middletown without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Middletown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Middletown
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.