Photo: Public domain · Public domainHousehold incomes in Elder Township are lower than in 70% of U.S. towns
4% of workers have no commute at all, next to 16% for Pennsylvania as a whole. Below the poverty line: 7.5% of residents, next to 11.7% across Pennsylvania. Jobs and income earn Elder Township C+; getting around on foot earns it D.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Elder Township stands out on work
Elder Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 26 across Pennsylvania. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Few Elder Township workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 16% across Pennsylvania. Almost everyone here travels to a job. 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; with 413 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
The four measures behind Elder Township’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Elder Township is better than 36% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate holds Elder Township’s grade up; job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 27% of U.S. towns).
Unemployment (1.4%) is left out: Elder Township’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, Elder Township could be anywhere from C− to B−.
The trip to work from Elder Township: about 34 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elder Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 324 commuters (the 4% 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.
How many people are in Elder Township by day
On a workday 393 residents head out to work, 20 work right here, and 356 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.91 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.
11% of working residents work in Altoona
Where Elder Township clocks in
11% 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.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
376 jobs are based in Elder Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elder Township, 2013 → 2023: 260 → 376. 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 Elder Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How far Elder Township’s workers travel
About 23% 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.
Most trips from Elder Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elder Township is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Elder Township 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 338 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). 5.1% of Elder Township households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Elder Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Elder Township ranks: 1,511th of 3,133 U.S. towns of 700 to 1,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Bryn Athyn PA | 1,304 | $143K | 0.3% | 2.6% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Rose Valley PA | 1,017 | $247K | 2.9% | 1.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Bradford Woods PA | 1,126 | $153K | 1.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,509 | Black Hammock FL | 1,290 | $52K | 14.6% | 6.9% | 1% | C+ |
| 1,510 | Ballard UT | 1,303 | $87K | 11.9% | 8.0% | 7% | C+ |
| 1,511 | Elder Township PA | 1,016 | $62K | 7.5% | 1.4% | 5% | C+ |
| 1,512 | Thomasboro IL | 1,003 | $64K | 13.2% | 1.3% | 1% | C+ |
| 1,513 | Clifty Township IN | 1,062 | $88K | 18.9% | 12.8% | 1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,133 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 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 Elder Township, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Next door to Elder Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elder Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elder Township | – | C+ | D | 34 min | $62,083 |
| Chest Township | under 3% | — | — | 50 min | — |
| Hastings | 3% | B− | B+ | 25 min | $70,625 |
| Patton | 4% | D | A | 32 min | $47,875 |
| Susquehanna Township | under 3% | C− | C+ | 27 min | $52,431 |
| East Carroll Township | under 3% | B | D | 30 min | $81,250 |
Same-state neighbors only. Chest Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Patton. Darker towns draw more of Elder Township’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 Elder Township: questions
What is the median household income in Elder Township?
$62,083 (±$4,469) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elder Township?
7.5%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elder Township?
34 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elder Township work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Altoona (11%, 19 mi), Cambria Township (5%, 13 mi), Patton (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Elder Township walkable?
Elder Township is more walkable than 11% of U.S. towns (Walkability D): an EPA walkability index of 4.9 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elder Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elder Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elder Township
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.