What is the Newly Released Census Data
on Worker Commuting Patterns Showing Us?

Recently, the U.S. Census Bureau released the 2000 workforce commuting patterns data. What does the data show? In St. Louis, it says that more jobs worth commuting to are outside the central city. It shows a reversal of driving habits from several decades ago. Now the majority of cross-county commuting is done away from the inner city and into the suburbs. In 1990, about 170,000 motorists commuted each workday from the city to county jobs and more than 200,000 did the reverse. New stats show today the numbers are the exact opposite. Go here to read about St. Louis area commuting patterns.

In Pittsburgh, according to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette study, Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh remain the dominant providers of jobs in southwestern Pennsylvania, but more and more of the workforce lives at a far distance from the area, some living in Ohio. Go here to read more.

The data show In Louisville, Kentucky that more people are driving longer distances for jobs in Louisville and Jefferson County than they did in 1990. The number of people coming into Jefferson County on a daily basis jumped 37 percent during the 1990s, up 98,700 from about 72,100. Go here to read more.

Just the opposite was found in Winchester, Virginia, where more workers are staying close to home. Go here for the details.

The Census point to more inter-county commuting by workers in Palm Beach, Florida where about one out of every 13 workers who lived in Palm Beach County went to work in adjacent Broward County, up from about one in 15 in 1990. Go here for more information.

One clear implication of the 2000 commuting patterns data is that the majority of labor markets are becoming more regional in nature as more inter-county commuting occurs. What is the economic development strategy implication of these commuting trends? It suggests that communities and counties within the same substate region should cooperate even more on economic development activities. In other words, regional approaches will be more effective in the future than strictly localized economic strategies.

You can download the Census data for your area here.