Clarks Summit has lower unemployment (1.0%) than 94% of U.S. towns
Household incomes here are higher than in 70% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn Clarks Summit A; getting around on foot earns it A−. Only 7% work in Clarks Summit; the top destination outside it is Scranton (21%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Clarks Summit apart on work
Commutes from Clarks Summit are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker, and quicker than any town next door (20 to 28 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Clarks Summit and Scranton trade workers both ways
Scranton is the top workplace for Clarks Summit residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Clarks Summit come from (13% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Clarks Summit: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Clarks Summit is better than 90% of U.S. towns, #159 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Unemployment is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 66% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Clarks Summit could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
About 17 minutes each way for Clarks Summit’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Clarks Summit workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,217 commuters (the 15% 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.
Out of Clarks Summit to work: where people go
Where Clarks Summit clocks in
21% 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.
Clarks Summit on a workday afternoon
On a workday 2,127 residents head out to work, 172 work right here, and 2,882 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,800 people are in Clarks Summit on a workday afternoon, 15% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.33 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.
The kinds of work in Clarks Summit
3,054 jobs are based in Clarks Summit.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Clarks Summit, 2013 → 2023: 2,463 → 3,054. 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 Clarks Summit’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Clarks Summit
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Clarks Summit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Clarks Summit is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns, #335 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.3% 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 2,614 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). 4.2% of Clarks Summit households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Clarks Summit’s commuters take a bus or train.
Clarks Summit is 417th of 3,758 U.S. towns of 3,500 to 6,800 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 415 | Richmond VT | 4,103 | $108K | 4.2% | 1.0% | 9% | A |
| 416 | Rochester IL | 4,093 | $117K | 2.5% | 2.9% | 3% | A |
| 417 | Clarks Summit PA | 5,069 | $92K | 4.6% | 1.0% | 7% | A |
| 418 | Van Buren Township IN | 4,320 | $100K | 0.6% | 2.2% | 6% | A |
| 419 | Sugar Creek WI | 3,888 | $102K | 2.4% | 2.5% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,758 | 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 Clarks Summit, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Around Clarks Summit: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to South Abington Township (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Clarks Summit workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarks Summit | – | A | A− | 17 min | $92,083 |
| South Abington Township | 8% | A− | C+ | 26 min | $113,615 |
| Clarks Green | under 2% | A | B− | 20 min | $113,850 |
| Waverly Township | under 2% | A+ | B | 28 min | $151,442 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Clarks Summit’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 Clarks Summit: questions
What is the median household income in Clarks Summit?
$92,083 (±$19,866) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Clarks Summit?
4.6%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Clarks Summit?
17 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Clarks Summit work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Scranton (21%, 6 mi), South Abington Township (8%, 1 mi), Dunmore (5%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Clarks Summit walkable?
Clarks Summit is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 9.4 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Clarks Summit without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Clarks Summit, from the people who make the trip.
More of Clarks Summit
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.