Photo: Nyttend · Public domainThere are 1.9 jobs in Big Beaver for every working resident, and 1,301 people commute in
Only 6% work in Big Beaver itself; outside it, Cranberry Township draws the most (7%, 15 miles). Big Beaver has 1,346 jobs, against 724 working residents. For jobs and income Big Beaver is better than 70% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns (C).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Big Beaver apart
Jobs in Big Beaver have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Big Beaver went from 545 in 2013 to 1,346 in 2023, +147%. The jobs ↓
Big Beaver is where the jobs are
Big Beaver has 1,346 jobs, 1.9 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Big Beaver makes and builds things
39% of the jobs based in Big Beaver are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Big Beaver residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 21%. 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; with 724 working residents, small shifts move the shares; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Big Beaver
The poverty rate holds Big Beaver’s grade up (6.0%, U.S. 12.5%); household income pulls it down ($71,678, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.
Unemployment (7.4%) is left out: Big Beaver’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Big Beaver could be anywhere from B to A−.
In Big Beaver, 39% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Big Beaver, 2013 → 2023: 545 → 1,346. 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 Big Beaver’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Big Beaver
On a workday 679 residents head out to work and 45 work right here.
About 2,400 people are in Big Beaver on a workday afternoon, 34% more than live here.
1.9 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
The daily trip into Big Beaver
Where Big Beaver clocks in
7% 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.
From Big Beaver, about 30 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Big Beaver workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 693 commuters (the 14% 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.
Where in the region Big Beaver works
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.
Big Beaver is a driving town
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.8% 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 806 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 45% 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). 1.5% of Big Beaver households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Big Beaver’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 5,656 U.S. towns of 1,300 to 2,500, Big Beaver comes 1,158th on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Bryn Athyn PA | 1,304 | $143K | 0.3% | 2.6% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Newtown PA | 2,257 | $166K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 36 | Edgeworth PA | 1,611 | $203K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,156 | Enon OH | 2,456 | $97K | 6.3% | 5.3% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,157 | Jonestown PA | 1,666 | $89K | 6.9% | 3.8% | 1% | B+ |
| 1,158 | Big Beaver PA | 1,822 | $72K | 6.0% | 7.4% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,159 | Hayes Township MI | 2,012 | $82K | 2.4% | 2.0% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,160 | Mathews LA | 1,598 | $87K | 6.0% | 1.6% | 4% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,656 | Paraje NM | 1,333 | $33K | 61.7% | 0.0% | 0% | 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 Big Beaver, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
The towns next door employ 13% of Big Beaver
The biggest share goes to Chippewa Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Big Beaver workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Beaver | – | B+ | C | 30 min | $71,678 |
| Chippewa Township | 5% | A− | C | 33 min | $94,806 |
| North Sewickley Township | 3% | B+ | C− | 24 min | $76,663 |
| Koppel | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Beaver Falls | 5% | C− | A+ | 21 min | $49,924 |
| New Beaver | under 2% | B− | C− | 31 min | $61,417 |
| West Mayfield | under 2% | B− | B+ | 26 min | $54,731 |
| Darlington Township | under 2% | B | C | 26 min | $64,107 |
Same-state neighbors only. Koppel: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Big 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 Big Beaver: questions
What is the median household income in Big Beaver?
$71,678 (±$7,515) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Big Beaver?
6.0%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Big Beaver?
30 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Big Beaver work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Cranberry Township (7%, 15 mi), Beaver Falls (5%, 5 mi), Chippewa Township (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Big Beaver walkable?
Big Beaver is more walkable than 33% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.9 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Big Beaver without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Big Beaver, from the people who make the trip.
More of Big 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.