Jobs and earnings in Morgantown, and the trip to work
The trip to work takes 34 minutes on average (Pennsylvania 26, U.S. 26). Only 3% stay in Morgantown for work; outside it, Caernarvon Township is the main destination (12%, 1 miles). 803 jobs are based in Morgantown, and 573 of its residents work somewhere.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Morgantown
Fewer jobs are based in Morgantown than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Morgantown fell from 1,330 in 2013 to 803 in 2023, −40%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Morgantown
63% of Morgantown residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 39% of the jobs based in Morgantown pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
45% of the jobs in Morgantown are in trade, transport and utilities, against 18% of the jobs its residents hold. 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; with 573 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What Morgantown’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Morgantown, 2013 → 2023: 1,330 → 803. 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 Morgantown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Morgantown, and who commutes in
On a workday 557 residents head out to work, 16 work right here, and 787 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,600 people are in Morgantown on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.40 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.
The towns that employ Morgantown’s residents
Where Morgantown clocks in
12% 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.
Getting to work from Morgantown takes about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Morgantown workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 585 commuters (the 13% 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 Morgantown’s workers travel
About 15% 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.
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 Morgantown: questions
What is the median household income in Morgantown?
$78,166 (±$8,410) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Morgantown?
8.0%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Morgantown?
34 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Morgantown work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Caernarvon Township (12%, 1 mi), Reading (4%, 13 mi), Honey Brook Township (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Morgantown without a car?
7% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Morgantown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Morgantown
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.