Most of Blakely commutes out: there are 0.5 jobs for every working resident
Household incomes here are lower than in 80% of U.S. towns. 1,550 jobs are based in Blakely, and 2,894 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for Blakely are C+ for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Blakely apart
Commutes from Blakely are quick
The average trip to work takes 18 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 61 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. Time on the road ↓
Blakely and Scranton trade workers both ways
Scranton is the top workplace for Blakely residents (19%) and also where the most people who work in Blakely come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Blakely residents work close to home
60% 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.
The four measures behind Blakely’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Blakely is better than 43% of U.S. towns, #754 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Blakely’s grade up (ahead of 70% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($55,855, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Blakely could be anywhere from C− to A−.
The daily trip from Blakely: about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Blakely workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,684 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.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
19% of working residents work in Scranton
Where Blakely clocks in
19% of workers
6% 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.
Half of Blakely commutes less than 7 miles
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.
Who leaves Blakely for work, and who comes in
On a workday 2,748 residents head out to work, 146 work right here, and 1,404 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,300 people are in Blakely on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
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 kinds of work in Blakely
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Blakely, 2013 → 2023: 1,563 → 1,550. 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 Blakely’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Most trips from Blakely start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Blakely is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns, #414 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Blakely 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 2,957 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). 10.5% of Blakely households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Blakely’s commuters take a bus or train.
Blakely is 2,059th of 3,283 U.S. towns of 4,600 to 8,900 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | West Vincent Township PA | 6,885 | $203K | 1.4% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Upper Nazareth Township PA | 8,521 | $122K | 1.2% | 0.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,057 | Bedford Township PA | 5,088 | $61K | 1.9% | 5.9% | 29% | C+ |
| 2,058 | Stratmoor CO | 5,412 | $65K | 10.6% | 5.9% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,059 | Blakely PA | 6,611 | $56K | 9.0% | 5.3% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,060 | Mount Carmel TN | 5,540 | $69K | 7.0% | 7.4% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,061 | Wolfeboro NH | 6,637 | $94K | 8.2% | 5.0% | 35% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,283 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Blakely, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
The towns next door employ 17% of Blakely
The biggest share goes to Archbald (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Blakely workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blakely | – | C+ | B+ | 18 min | $55,855 |
| Archbald | 6% | B+ | B | 22 min | $71,936 |
| Olyphant | 2% | B− | B+ | 19 min | $66,423 |
| Jessup | 5% | B− | C+ | 28 min | $64,844 |
| Scott Township | under 2% | B+ | B | 21 min | $93,384 |
| Dickson City | 4% | C | B+ | 25 min | $59,963 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Blakely’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 Blakely: questions
What is the median household income in Blakely?
$55,855 (±$5,009) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Blakely?
9.0%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Blakely?
18 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Blakely work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Scranton (19%, 7 mi), Dunmore (6%, 5 mi), Archbald (6%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Blakely walkable?
Blakely is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Blakely without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Blakely, from the people who make the trip.
More of Blakely
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.