Photo: Nyttend · Public domainBeaver has higher unemployment (7.2%) than 84% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Beaver for work; outside it, Pittsburgh is the main destination (9%, 25 miles). Jobs and income earn Beaver B; getting around on foot earns it A+. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.3 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 37.5 in Pittsburgh.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The short version on getting to work from Beaver
Nearly all the work in Beaver is services
90% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Beaver’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Beaver is Pittsburgh, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (163) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. 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.
Income, poverty and work: Beaver’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Beaver is better than 60% of U.S. towns, #582 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Beaver’s grade up (ahead of 79% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Beaver could be anywhere from C+ to A.
Services make up most of the work in Beaver
2,542 jobs are based in Beaver.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Beaver, 2013 → 2023: 2,770 → 2,542. 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 Beaver’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Beaver 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.
Beaver by day and by night
On a workday 1,674 residents head out to work, 220 work right here, and 2,322 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,000 people are in Beaver on a workday afternoon, 15% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.34 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.
Where the trip to work from Beaver ends
Where Beaver clocks in
9% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
About 24 minutes each way, quicker than most of Pennsylvania
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Beaver workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,706 commuters (the 23% 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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Beaver
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Beaver is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #91 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 6.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.6% across Pennsylvania.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,213 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, 42% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 62% 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). 7.2% of Beaver households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Beaver’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,730th of 4,136: where Beaver ranks among U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,728 | Adams Township PA | 5,558 | $70K | 10.7% | 0.5% | 10% | B |
| 1,729 | Dixon Lane-MeadowCreek CA | 3,071 | $76K | 6.5% | 0.4% | 4% | B |
| 1,730 | Beaver PA | 4,342 | $81K | 6.1% | 7.2% | 12% | B |
| 1,731 | Jersey Shore PA | 4,048 | $72K | 7.0% | 3.1% | 15% | B |
| 1,732 | El Paso Township IL | 3,376 | $83K | 9.7% | 3.4% | 19% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,136 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Beaver, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
The towns around Beaver
The biggest share goes to Brighton Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Beaver workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver | – | B | A+ | 24 min | $81,156 |
| Brighton Township | 4% | A− | C+ | 24 min | $115,250 |
| Vanport Township | 2% | C | A− | 25 min | $41,310 |
| Bridgewater | under 3% | — | — | 19 min | — |
| Potter Township | under 3% | — | — | 27 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Bridgewater and Potter Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Beaver’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 Beaver: questions
What is the median household income in Beaver?
$81,156 (±$17,519) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Beaver?
6.1%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Beaver?
24 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 23% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Beaver work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (9%, 25 mi), Moon Township (5%, 14 mi), Brighton Township (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Beaver walkable?
Beaver is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 16.8 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Beaver without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 42% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Beaver, from the people who make the trip.
More of Beaver
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.