Photo: Generic1139 · CC BY-SA 3.0Household incomes in Donora trail those of 96% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Donora for work; outside it, Rostraver Township is the main destination (5%, 3 miles). Poverty touches 29.6% of residents (Pennsylvania 11.7%). Jobs and income earn Donora D; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Donora
Donora makes and builds things
56% of the jobs based in Donora are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Donora residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 19%. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Donora pay better than its residents’ jobs
73% of the jobs based in Donora pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 49% of the jobs Donora residents hold. 85% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Donora. The jobs ↓
Donora workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 26 across Pennsylvania. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
The figures behind Donora’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Donora is better than 10% of U.S. towns, #1,015 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Donora’s grade up (ahead of 66% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (12.7%, U.S. 5.2%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Donora could be anywhere from D to C−.
Making and building: 56% of jobs based in Donora
994 jobs are based in Donora.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Donora, 2013 → 2023: 1,068 → 994. 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 Donora’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 31 minutes each way for Donora’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Donora workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,733 commuters (the 8% 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 works in Donora, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,383 residents head out to work, 150 work right here, and 844 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,900 people are in Donora on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.65 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.
Out of Donora to work: where people go
Where Donora clocks in
5% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
Miles to work from Donora
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: Donora
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Donora is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns, #180 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Donora 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 1,885 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). 19.3% of Donora households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Donora’s commuters take a bus or train.
Donora and other U.S. towns of 3,100 to 6,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 69 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,676 | Charleston MO | 4,731 | $34K | 25.8% | 5.0% | 26% | D |
| 3,677 | Bath NY | 5,545 | $47K | 19.7% | 6.7% | 17% | D |
| 3,678 | Donora PA | 4,462 | $40K | 29.6% | 12.7% | 10% | D |
| 3,679 | Washington Township PA | 3,659 | $40K | 31.0% | 9.3% | 3% | D |
| 3,680 | Sparta IL | 4,022 | $52K | 24.4% | 6.3% | 28% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,000 | 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 Donora, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
How Donora compares with the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Donora workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donora | – | D | A | 31 min | $39,544 |
| Carroll Township | 4% | B− | B− | 30 min | $79,219 |
| Rostraver Township | 5% | B− | C+ | 29 min | $73,300 |
| Webster | under 2% | — | — | — | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Webster: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Rostraver Township. Darker towns draw more of Donora’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 Donora: questions
What is the median household income in Donora?
$39,544 (±$10,896) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Donora?
29.6%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Donora?
31 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Donora work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rostraver Township (5%, 3 mi), Charleroi (5%, 4 mi), Carroll Township (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Donora walkable?
Donora is more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.3 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Donora without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Donora, from the people who make the trip.
More of Donora
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.