Photo: Smallbones at en.wikipedia · Public domainDarby’s household incomes are lower than in 96% of U.S. towns
Only 2% work in Darby itself; outside it, Philadelphia draws the most (36%, 9 miles). 30.0% of residents live below the poverty line, next to 11.7% for Pennsylvania as a whole. Jobs and income earn Darby C−; getting around on foot earns it A+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Darby apart
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Darby’s working residents have a job less than 6 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 37 minutes, longer than the Pennsylvania average of 26. Time on the road ↓
A lot of Darby works one town over
40% of working residents work in a town that borders Darby: Philadelphia (36%), Upper Darby Township (3%) and Collingdale (1%). Next door ↓
Nearly all the work in Darby is services
93% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
Most Darby residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. Only 7% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
The jobs in Darby pay better than its residents’ jobs
68% of the jobs based in Darby pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 51% of the jobs Darby residents hold. 96% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Darby. 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.
What’s behind Darby’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Darby is better than 17% of U.S. towns, #970 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Darby’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down (18.5%, U.S. 5.2%).
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Darby stays C−.
About 37 minutes to work from Darby
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Darby workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,365 commuters (the 11% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
2,178 jobs are based in Darby.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Darby, 2013 → 2023: 3,056 → 2,178. 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 Darby’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The distance from Darby to work
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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Darby
On a workday 4,198 residents head out to work, 93 work right here, and 2,085 people come in from elsewhere.
About 8,600 people are in Darby on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.51 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute 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.
The places Darby commutes to
Where Darby clocks in
36% of workers
3% 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.
Darby is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Darby is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #6 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Darby 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 3,760 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, 69% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 25.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 28.2% of Darby households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 28% of Darby’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,545th of 2,878: where Darby ranks among U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Bethel Township PA | 9,774 | $177K | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Upper Nazareth Township PA | 8,521 | $122K | 1.2% | 0.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Upper Uwchlan Township PA | 13,681 | $191K | 1.6% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,543 | Payette ID | 8,813 | $55K | 13.9% | 5.2% | 14% | C− |
| 2,544 | Dunkirk NY | 12,326 | $53K | 24.3% | 4.7% | 31% | C− |
| 2,545 | Darby PA | 10,666 | $40K | 30.0% | 18.5% | 2% | C− |
| 2,546 | Rushville Township IN | 7,672 | $58K | 15.4% | 6.4% | 25% | C− |
| 2,547 | Licking Township IN | 7,506 | $47K | 19.2% | 5.0% | 25% | C− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | 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 Darby, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
40% of Darby works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Darby workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darby | – | C− | A+ | 37 min | $39,863 |
| Yeadon | under 2% | C | A+ | 32 min | $49,759 |
| Philadelphia | 36% | C | A+ | 32 min | $61,953 |
| Collingdale | 1% | C | A+ | 33 min | $51,886 |
| Colwyn | under 2% | C− | A+ | 34 min | $46,935 |
| Upper Darby Township | 3% | C+ | A+ | 32 min | $71,481 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Philadelphia. Darker towns draw more of Darby’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 Darby: questions
What is the median household income in Darby?
$39,863 (±$9,978) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Darby?
30.0%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Darby?
37 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Darby work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Philadelphia (36%, 9 mi), Upper Darby Township (3%, 2 mi), Lower Merion Township (3%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Darby walkable?
Darby is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.1 out of 20, and 29% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Darby without a car?
28% of commuters take transit and 28% of households have no car. 69% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Darby, from the people who make the trip.
More of Darby
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.