Photo: AnthraciteCoalRegion · Public domainAshland’s household incomes are lower than in 84% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 17.4%; Pennsylvania has 11.7%. For jobs and income Ashland is better than 15% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns (A). Home is the office for 3% of workers, next to 16% for Pennsylvania as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Ashland in brief
Few Ashland workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 16% across Pennsylvania. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Ashland than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Ashland fell from 1,119 in 2013 to 746 in 2023, −33%. 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 ↓
Ashland makes and builds things
39% of the jobs based in Ashland are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Ashland residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 26%. 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.
Inside Ashland’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Ashland’s grade up (ahead of 40% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($52,708, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Ashland could be anywhere from D to C+.
Each way, about 29 minutes from Ashland
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ashland workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,025 commuters (the 3% 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.
Making and building: 39% of jobs based in Ashland
746 jobs are based in Ashland.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ashland, 2013 → 2023: 1,119 → 746. 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 Ashland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Ashland
On a workday 920 residents head out to work, 136 work right here, and 610 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,200 people are in Ashland on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.71 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
5% of working residents work in Pottsville
Where Ashland clocks in
5% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
How many miles Ashland commutes
About 20% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Ashland
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,053 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 10.7% of Ashland households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Ashland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Ashland is 3,984th among 4,868 U.S. towns of 1,800 to 3,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Newtown PA | 2,257 | $166K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Churchill PA | 3,014 | $107K | 1.9% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Thornbury Township PA | 3,165 | $172K | 2.4% | 2.5% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,982 | Marietta OK | 2,982 | $52K | 20.6% | 4.9% | 12% | C− |
| 3,983 | McAdoo PA | 2,474 | $46K | 20.4% | 6.7% | 2% | C− |
| 3,984 | Ashland PA | 2,520 | $53K | 17.4% | 6.4% | 13% | C− |
| 3,985 | South Fulton TN | 2,158 | $44K | 29.2% | 3.2% | 5% | C− |
| 3,986 | Campo CA | 2,729 | $79K | 15.0% | 7.5% | 4% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,868 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Ashland, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
The towns around Ashland
The biggest share goes to Butler Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ashland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland | – | C− | A | 29 min | $52,708 |
| Butler Township | 5% | B− | D | 31 min | $79,730 |
| Conyngham Township | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Conyngham Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Ashland’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 Ashland: questions
What is the median household income in Ashland?
$52,708 (±$12,382) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ashland?
17.4%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Ashland?
29 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ashland work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pottsville (5%, 10 mi), Butler Township (5%, 1 mi), Cass Township (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ashland walkable?
Ashland is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.2 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ashland without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 11% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ashland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ashland
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.