Most of Whitfield commutes out: there are 0.3 jobs for every working resident
A typical one-way commute lasts 24 minutes; Pennsylvania averages 26, the U.S. 26. Employers in Whitfield report 723 jobs, against 2,113 working residents. Only 1% work in Whitfield; the top destination outside it is Reading (12%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Whitfield apart on work
The better-paid jobs are outside Whitfield
68% of Whitfield residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 38% of the jobs based in Whitfield pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 99% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Whitfield pay little
29% of the jobs based in Whitfield pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. 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 Whitfield’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Whitfield, 2013 → 2023: 832 → 723. 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 Whitfield’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who works in Whitfield, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 2,087 residents head out to work, 26 work right here, and 697 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,800 people are in Whitfield on a workday afternoon, 27% 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.
The towns that employ Whitfield’s residents
Where Whitfield clocks in
12% 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.
Getting to work from Whitfield takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Whitfield workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,356 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.
The distance from Whitfield to work
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.
How Whitfield compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Wyomissing (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Whitfield workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitfield | – | — | — | 24 min | $126,740 |
| Sinking Spring | under 2% | A | B− | 23 min | $82,500 |
| Springmont | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| West Lawn | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
| Wyomissing | 6% | A | B+ | 20 min | $93,203 |
| Spring Ridge | under 2% | — | — | 17 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Springmont, West Lawn and Spring Ridge: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Whitfield’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 Whitfield: questions
What is the median household income in Whitfield?
$126,740 (±$16,321) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Whitfield?
6.1%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Whitfield?
24 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Whitfield work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Reading (12%, 4 mi), Spring Township (11%, 2 mi), Wyomissing (6%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Whitfield without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Whitfield, from the people who make the trip.
More of Whitfield
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.