Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Household incomes in Clarion are lower than in 91% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Clarion D; getting around on foot earns it A+. 23.9% of residents live below the poverty line, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania. For 7% of workers, the job is at home; Pennsylvania has 16%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Clarion, in brief
Commutes from Clarion are quick
The average trip to work takes 11 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 115 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. Time on the road ↓
Clarion is where the jobs are
Clarion has 1,964 jobs, 1.6 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Clarion than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Clarion fell from 2,762 in 2013 to 1,964 in 2023, −29%. 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 ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. 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.
How Clarion earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Clarion is better than 6% of U.S. towns, #1,027 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Clarion’s grade up (ahead of 34% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (9.8%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Clarion could be anywhere from D− to C+.
Time on the road from Clarion: about 11 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 3.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clarion workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,030 commuters (the 7% 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.
Who leaves Clarion for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,060 residents head out to work, 199 work right here, and 1,765 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,700 people are in Clarion on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.
1.6 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.
Services make up most of the work in Clarion
1,964 jobs are based in Clarion.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clarion, 2013 → 2023: 2,762 → 1,964. 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 Clarion’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Clarion’s commute, mile by mile
About 33% 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.
Where Clarion’s workforce comes from
Where Clarion clocks in
8% of workers
7% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Clarion
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Clarion is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #76 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Clarion 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 2,180 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). 9.3% of Clarion households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Clarion’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Clarion compares with U.S. towns of 2,800 to 5,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,939 | Haleyville AL | 4,303 | $42K | 25.2% | 5.6% | 25% | D |
| 3,940 | Booneville AR | 3,836 | $50K | 16.7% | 10.0% | 19% | D |
| 3,941 | Clarion PA | 4,037 | $47K | 23.9% | 9.8% | 16% | D |
| 3,942 | Oxford Township OH | 4,637 | $54K | 31.3% | 16.7% | 20% | D |
| 3,943 | Lancaster KY | 4,111 | $44K | 29.1% | 11.7% | 15% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,177 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Clarion, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Around Clarion: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Clarion Township (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Clarion workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarion | – | D | A+ | 11 min | $47,181 |
| Clarion Township | 5% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Highland Township | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Clarion Township: not graded. Highland Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Clarion’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 Clarion: questions
What is the median household income in Clarion?
$47,181 (±$15,253) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clarion?
23.9%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clarion?
11 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 7% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clarion work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Paint Township (8%, 3 mi), Monroe Township (7%, 5 mi), Clarion Township (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Clarion walkable?
Clarion is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 11.3 out of 20, and 19% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clarion without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clarion, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clarion
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.