Photo: Doug Kerr · CC BY-SA 2.0Work and commuting in West Middlesex
7% of workers have no commute at all (Pennsylvania 16%). Only 8% work in West Middlesex; the top destination outside it is Hermitage (15%, 4 miles). Working residents average 17 minutes each way, where Pennsylvania has 26 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in West Middlesex, in a few figures
West Middlesex is where the jobs are
West Middlesex has 689 jobs, 1.7 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
West Middlesex makes and builds things
50% of the jobs based in West Middlesex are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs West Middlesex residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 31%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from West Middlesex 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 ↓
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 399 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How many people are in West Middlesex by day
On a workday 369 residents head out to work, 30 work right here, and 659 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,100 people are in West Middlesex on a workday afternoon, 38% more than live here.
1.7 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
50% of the jobs in West Middlesex make or build things
689 jobs are based in West Middlesex.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Middlesex, 2013 → 2023: 687 → 689. 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 West Middlesex’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from West Middlesex takes about 17 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Middlesex workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 479 commuters (the 7% 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 daily trip into West Middlesex
Where West Middlesex clocks in
15% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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.
Half of West Middlesex commutes less than 11 miles
About 19% 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 West Middlesex: questions
What is the median household income in West Middlesex?
$89,667 (±$23,350) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Middlesex?
1.3%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Middlesex?
17 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Middlesex work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hermitage (15%, 4 mi), Shenango Township (7%, 2 mi), Farrell (6%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around West Middlesex without a car?
0% 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 West Middlesex, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Middlesex
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.