Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0Unemployment in Allentown (9.0%) is higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
Jobs & income C−: better than 24% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #914 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania.
Walkability A+: more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns · #71 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania.
Household incomes here are lower than in 81% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 25 minutes each way (Pennsylvania 26, U.S. 26). About one in seven work in Allentown; the top destination outside it is Upper Macungie Township (9%, 8 miles).
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 8.3 transit trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 37.7 in Philadelphia (EPA, 2020 schedules).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in Allentown, in brief
Allentown trades workers with the towns around it
Allentown has about as many jobs (45,007) as working residents (51,708), but they are mostly different people: 43,486 residents leave for work each day while 36,785 people come in. Only 18% of the jobs in Allentown are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Most Allentown residents work close to home
61% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
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’s behind Allentown’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Allentown is better than 24% of U.S. towns, #914 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Allentown’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (9.0%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Allentown could be anywhere from C− to C.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 43,486 residents head out to work, 8,222 work right here, and 36,785 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.87 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.
Half of Allentown commutes less than 8 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
9% of working residents work in Upper Macungie Township
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where Allentown clocks in
9% of workers
8% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
What the 45,007 jobs in Allentown are
45,007 jobs are based in Allentown. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Allentown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Allentown, 2013 → 2023: 43,185 → 45,007. 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.
About 25 minutes each way, about the PA average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Allentown workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 50,484 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across Pennsylvania: 81% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Allentown is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Allentown is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #71 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Allentown near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 55,469 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 81% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 8.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 92% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 16.5% of Allentown households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Allentown’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
How Allentown compares with U.S. towns of 88,000 to 170,000
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Allentown, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 2 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Franklin TN | 90,226 | $120K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 31% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 291 | Yakima WA | 97,458 | $63K | 16.6% | 8.4% | 49% | C− |
| 292 | Hesperia CA | 102,605 | $72K | 16.9% | 9.3% | 12% | C− |
| 293 | Allentown PA | 126,044 | $55K | 21.0% | 9.0% | 16% | C− |
| 294 | New Haven CT | 138,774 | $57K | 23.9% | 8.4% | 43% | C− |
| 295 | Fort Smith AR | 90,855 | $55K | 18.3% | 6.5% | 61% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 313 | Erie PA | 91,838 | $46K | 23.3% | 7.1% | 47% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 317 | Reading PA | 95,832 | $44K | 28.7% | 13.7% | 15% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 319 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | D |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
20% of Allentown works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Bethlehem (8%). Darker towns draw more of Allentown’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Allentown workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allentown | – | C− | A+ | 25 min | $55,494 |
| Salisbury Township | 3% | B+ | B+ | 24 min | $101,299 |
| South Whitehall Township | 4% | A− | B | 21 min | $102,872 |
| Fullerton | under 3% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Whitehall Township | 2% | B− | A− | 26 min | $75,658 |
| Dorneyville | under 3% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Cetronia | under 3% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| Bethlehem | 8% | C+ | A+ | 22 min | $68,879 |
| Emmaus | under 3% | A− | A− | 27 min | $83,917 |
| Hanover Township | 3% | B− | A | 20 min | $55,652 |
Same-state neighbors only. Fullerton, Dorneyville and Cetronia: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 Allentown: questions
What is the median household income in Allentown?
$55,494 (±$2,358) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Allentown?
21.0%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Allentown?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Allentown work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Upper Macungie Township (9%, 8 mi), Bethlehem (8%, 6 mi), South Whitehall Township (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Allentown walkable?
Allentown is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.9 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Allentown without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 16% of households have no car. 81% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Allentown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Allentown
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. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.