Photo: Canadian2006 · CC BY-SA 3.0Elizabeth has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
The two grades for Elizabeth are C+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Employers in Elizabeth report 347 jobs, against 652 working residents. Household incomes here are lower than in 87% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Elizabeth: the figures worth knowing
The four measures behind Elizabeth’s grade
On income, poverty and job access, Elizabeth is better than 39% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Elizabeth’s grade up (ahead of 78% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($51,174, U.S. $80,734).
Unemployment (3.9%) is left out: Elizabeth’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, Elizabeth could be anywhere from C to B−.
Goods jobs make up 37% of work in Elizabeth
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Elizabeth, 2014 → 2024: 313 → 347. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Elizabeth’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Elizabeth on a workday
On a workday 617 residents head out to work, 35 work right here, and 312 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,000 people are in Elizabeth on a workday afternoon, 23% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
17% of working residents work in Pittsburgh
Where Elizabeth clocks in
17% of workers
6% of workers
6% 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.
The trip to work from Elizabeth: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Elizabeth workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 642 commuters (the 9% 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 far Elizabeth goes to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Elizabeth, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Elizabeth is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Elizabeth 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 702 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, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% 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). 15.3% of Elizabeth households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 8% of Elizabeth’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 900 to 1,800, Elizabeth ranks 2,515th of 5,400 on jobs and income
| # | 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% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Baxter Estates NY | 1,014 | $154K | 1.0% | 3.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 12 | Bryn Athyn PA | 1,304 | $143K | 0.3% | 2.6% | 17% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Rose Valley PA | 1,017 | $247K | 2.9% | 1.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Bradford Woods PA | 1,126 | $153K | 1.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,513 | Manning IA | 1,375 | $73K | 7.4% | 0.7% | 21% | C+ |
| 2,514 | Buffalo OK | 1,002 | $72K | 5.0% | 1.5% | 21% | C+ |
| 2,515 | Elizabeth PA | 1,343 | $51K | 13.0% | 3.9% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,516 | Stonewood WV | 1,743 | $55K | 8.0% | 9.8% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,517 | Hazel Green WI | 1,173 | $65K | 10.6% | 0.6% | 3% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,400 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 1% | 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 Elizabeth, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
12% of Elizabeth works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Elizabeth Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Elizabeth workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth | – | C+ | A+ | 28 min | $51,174 |
| Forward Township | under 2% | B | D | 31 min | $67,171 |
| Elizabeth Township | 6% | A− | C+ | 30 min | $80,589 |
| West Elizabeth | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
| Blaine Hill | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Jefferson Hills | 6% | A− | C | 25 min | $116,064 |
Same-state neighbors only. West Elizabeth: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Blaine Hill: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Elizabeth’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 2024, 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 Elizabeth: questions
What is the median household income in Elizabeth?
$51,174 (±$6,192) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Elizabeth?
13.0%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Elizabeth?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Elizabeth work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (17%, 12 mi), West Mifflin (6%, 6 mi), Jefferson Hills (6%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Elizabeth walkable?
Elizabeth is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 17.3 out of 20, and 11% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Elizabeth without a car?
8% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Elizabeth, from the people who make the trip.
More of Elizabeth
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.