Photo: Pubdog · Public domainBradford’s household incomes are lower than in 80% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 4% of workers, next to 16% for Pennsylvania as a whole. 23.0% of residents are in poverty, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania. For jobs and income Bradford is better than 16% of U.S. towns (C−); for walkability it is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Bradford at work: what stands out
Commutes from Bradford are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 84 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Bradford workers work from home
Only 4% 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 Bradford than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Bradford fell from 5,104 in 2014 to 3,675 in 2024, −28%. 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 ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The figures behind Bradford’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment holds Bradford’s grade up (5.2%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Bradford could be anywhere from D to C+.
The trip to work from Bradford: about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Bradford workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,205 commuters (the 4% 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.
The kinds of work in Bradford
3,675 jobs are based in Bradford.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Bradford, 2014 → 2024: 5,104 → 3,675. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Bradford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Bradford, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,989 residents head out to work, 897 work right here, and 2,778 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,200 people are in Bradford on a workday afternoon, 11% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.27 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
14% of working residents work in Bradford Township
Where Bradford clocks in
14% of workers
7% of workers
3% 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.
Miles to work from Bradford
About 23% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Bradford is easy on foot, hard by bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 3,342 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). 18.6% of Bradford households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Bradford’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,734th of 3,083: where Bradford ranks among U.S. towns of 5,200 to 10,000
| # | 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | West Vincent Township PA | 6,885 | $203K | 1.4% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Bethel Township PA | 9,774 | $177K | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Upper Nazareth Township PA | 8,521 | $122K | 1.2% | 0.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,732 | Pee Pee Township OH | 7,344 | $57K | 18.6% | 5.4% | 22% | C− |
| 2,733 | Fitzgerald GA | 8,882 | $37K | 27.8% | 3.2% | 31% | C− |
| 2,734 | Bradford PA | 7,442 | $56K | 23.0% | 5.2% | 31% | C− |
| 2,735 | Oil City PA | 9,301 | $51K | 16.6% | 5.1% | 20% | C− |
| 2,736 | Barton NY | 8,330 | $55K | 12.6% | 6.8% | 19% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,083 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | 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 Bradford, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Bradford and its neighbors: 21% work next door
The biggest share goes to Bradford Township (14%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Bradford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford | – | C− | A | 15 min | $56,161 |
| Bradford Township | 14% | B+ | B+ | 14 min | $90,243 |
| Foster Township | 7% | C | B | 18 min | $70,362 |
| Foster Brook | under 1% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| University of Pittsburgh Bradford | under 1% | — | — | 11 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Foster Brook and University of Pittsburgh Bradford: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Bradford’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 2024, 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 Bradford: questions
What is the median household income in Bradford?
$56,161 (±$4,997) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Bradford?
23.0%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Bradford?
15 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Bradford work?
31% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bradford Township (14%, 4 mi), Foster Township (7%, 1 mi), Olean (3%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Bradford walkable?
Bradford is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.7 out of 20, and 10% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Bradford without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Bradford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Bradford
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.