With 0.5 jobs for every working resident, most of Brookhaven works elsewhere
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 37.7 in Philadelphia. There are 1,924 jobs in Brookhaven, against 4,096 working residents. Jobs and income earn Brookhaven A; getting around on foot earns it A−.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Brookhaven stands out on work
The better-paid jobs are outside Brookhaven
69% of Brookhaven residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 38% of the jobs based in Brookhaven pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 97% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Brookhaven pay little
28% of the jobs based in Brookhaven pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 36% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
40% of the jobs in Brookhaven are in trade, transport and utilities, against 19% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.
Brookhaven’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Brookhaven is better than 89% of U.S. towns, #178 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Brookhaven could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
The kinds of work in Brookhaven
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Brookhaven, 2013 → 2023: 1,578 → 1,924. 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 Brookhaven’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of Brookhaven, and who commutes in
On a workday 3,981 residents head out to work, 115 work right here, and 1,809 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,200 people are in Brookhaven on a workday afternoon, 26% 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.
13% of working residents work in Philadelphia
Where Brookhaven clocks in
13% 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.
The daily trip from Brookhaven: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Brookhaven workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,011 commuters (the 12% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Brookhaven
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Brookhaven
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Brookhaven is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns, #306 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.8% 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 4,560 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, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% 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). 4.6% of Brookhaven households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Brookhaven’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Brookhaven is 462nd of 2,947 U.S. towns of 5,900 to 11,300
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | West Vincent Township PA | 6,885 | $203K | 1.4% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Bethel Township PA | 9,774 | $177K | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 58 | Upper Nazareth Township PA | 8,521 | $122K | 1.2% | 0.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 460 | Easttown Township PA | 11,090 | $215K | 7.2% | 4.0% | 4% | A |
| 461 | Montvale NJ | 10,113 | $178K | 4.0% | 5.9% | 9% | A |
| 462 | Brookhaven PA | 8,362 | $91K | 4.1% | 3.5% | 3% | A |
| 463 | South Hanover Township PA | 7,372 | $118K | 6.4% | 2.8% | 3% | A |
| 464 | Rincon Valley AZ | 6,512 | $132K | 4.1% | 1.5% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,947 | 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 Brookhaven, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Next door is work for 11% of Brookhaven
The biggest share goes to Aston Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Brookhaven workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookhaven | – | A | A− | 27 min | $91,042 |
| Nether Providence Township | under 3% | A | A | 31 min | $150,950 |
| Middletown Township | 3% | A+ | A | 30 min | $129,300 |
| Village Green-Green Ridge | under 3% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Aston Township | 5% | B+ | A− | 27 min | $98,758 |
| Parkside | under 3% | A | A+ | 23 min | $93,929 |
| Chester Township | under 3% | C+ | A | 19 min | $58,125 |
| Upland | under 3% | B− | A+ | 19 min | $61,553 |
| Rose Valley | under 3% | A+ | A | 28 min | $246,875 |
| Chester | 3% | C− | A+ | 23 min | $41,342 |
Same-state neighbors only. Village Green-Green Ridge: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Brookhaven’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 Brookhaven: questions
What is the median household income in Brookhaven?
$91,042 (±$18,155) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Brookhaven?
4.1%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Brookhaven?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Brookhaven work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Philadelphia (13%, 17 mi), Aston Township (5%, 2 mi), Middletown Township (3%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Brookhaven walkable?
Brookhaven is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 12.3 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Brookhaven without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Brookhaven, from the people who make the trip.
More of Brookhaven
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.