Photo: Nyttend · Public domainJobs and earnings in Cheswick, and the trip to work
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 37.5 in Pittsburgh. Jobs and income earn Cheswick A−; getting around on foot earns it A−. Only 2% stay in Cheswick for work; outside it, Pittsburgh is the main destination (26%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Cheswick, in a few figures
Cheswick makes and builds things
61% of the jobs based in Cheswick are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Cheswick residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 17%. The jobs ↓
Most jobs in Cheswick pay over $40,000 a year
80% of the jobs based in Cheswick pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Cheswick than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Cheswick fell from 1,460 in 2013 to 1,076 in 2023, −26%. 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 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 862 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The figures behind Cheswick’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty and job access, Cheswick is better than 76% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Cheswick’s grade up (ahead of 84% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($75,000, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate.
Unemployment (8.9%) is left out: Cheswick’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, Cheswick could be anywhere from B to A.
Goods jobs make up 61% of work in Cheswick
1,076 jobs are based in Cheswick.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Cheswick, 2013 → 2023: 1,460 → 1,076. 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 Cheswick’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The workday shuffle in and out of Cheswick
On a workday 847 residents head out to work, 15 work right here, and 1,061 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Cheswick on a workday afternoon, 13% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.25 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 people from Cheswick work
Where Cheswick clocks in
26% 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 Cheswick, about 26 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Cheswick workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 648 commuters (the 18% 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.
Miles to work from Cheswick
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Cheswick
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Cheswick is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.2% 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 793 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 4.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 83% 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). 2.3% of Cheswick households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Cheswick’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Cheswick is 855th among 6,161 U.S. towns of 1,100 to 2,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Bryn Athyn PA | 1,304 | $143K | 0.3% | 2.6% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Bradford Woods PA | 1,126 | $153K | 1.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 42 | Edgeworth PA | 1,611 | $203K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 853 | Dayton VA | 1,791 | $76K | 4.7% | 2.6% | 5% | A− |
| 854 | Union Township NE | 2,089 | $110K | 0.9% | 7.1% | 4% | A− |
| 855 | Cheswick PA | 1,594 | $75K | 6.8% | 8.9% | 2% | A− |
| 856 | Santiago Township MN | 1,929 | $114K | 4.5% | 2.9% | 1% | A− |
| 857 | Minden Township MN | 1,543 | $76K | 3.2% | 1.7% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 6,161 | 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 Cheswick, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Cheswick and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Harmar Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Cheswick workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheswick | – | A− | A− | 26 min | $75,000 |
| Springdale Township | under 2% | B− | C+ | 27 min | $62,024 |
| Plum | under 2% | A | B | 31 min | $98,705 |
| Harmar Township | 5% | B | A | 25 min | $65,075 |
| Springdale | 2% | B+ | A | 27 min | $65,893 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Cheswick’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 Cheswick: questions
What is the median household income in Cheswick?
$75,000 (±$10,482) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Cheswick?
6.8%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Cheswick?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Cheswick work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (26%, 12 mi), O'Hara Township (5%, 5 mi), Harmar Township (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Cheswick walkable?
Cheswick is more walkable than 80% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 14.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Cheswick without a car?
2% 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 Cheswick, from the people who make the trip.
More of Cheswick
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.