Jacob Jr. Ehrenhardt House · Photo: Smallbones · CC0Fewer people are out of work in Emmaus (3.3%) than in 65% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.5 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 8.3 in Allentown. Emmaus grades A− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. Only 7% work in Emmaus; the top destination outside it is Allentown (11%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Emmaus apart
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Emmaus
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Emmaus is better than 78% of U.S. towns, #328 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 85% of U.S. towns); household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($83,917, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Emmaus could be anywhere from B to A.
Near or far: the trip to work from Emmaus
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 Emmaus
On a workday 5,427 residents head out to work, 420 work right here, and 4,476 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 (0.84 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.
Where Emmaus’ working residents head each day
Where Emmaus clocks in
11% of workers
7% of workers
7% 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.
What Emmaus’ employers do
4,896 jobs are based in Emmaus.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Emmaus, 2013 → 2023: 4,856 → 4,896. 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 Emmaus’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Emmaus’ commute takes about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Emmaus workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,332 commuters (the 14% 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.
In Emmaus, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Emmaus is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns, #328 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.0% 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 6,199 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 84% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 40% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 72% 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). 3.9% of Emmaus households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Emmaus’ commuters take a bus or train.
Emmaus is 771st of 2,354 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Lower Moreland Township PA | 14,116 | $154K | 2.6% | 2.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Bethel Township PA | 9,774 | $177K | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Skippack Township PA | 14,502 | $148K | 2.5% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 769 | Philipstown NY | 9,910 | $141K | 6.5% | 4.6% | 13% | A− |
| 770 | Clawson MI | 11,312 | $89K | 5.9% | 4.9% | 4% | A− |
| 771 | Emmaus PA | 12,514 | $84K | 7.3% | 3.3% | 7% | A− |
| 772 | Rapho Township PA | 12,240 | $87K | 4.3% | 4.3% | 8% | A− |
| 773 | West Caln Township PA | 9,088 | $99K | 9.0% | 2.7% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Emmaus, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Emmaus and its neighbors: 23% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Emmaus workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmaus | – | A− | A− | 27 min | $83,917 |
| Upper Milford Township | under 3% | A | B | 24 min | $110,139 |
| Lower Macungie Township | 6% | A+ | B | 27 min | $125,230 |
| Salisbury Township | 6% | B+ | B+ | 24 min | $101,299 |
| Allentown | 11% | C− | A+ | 25 min | $55,494 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Allentown. Darker towns draw more of Emmaus’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 Emmaus: questions
What is the median household income in Emmaus?
$83,917 (±$8,494) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Emmaus?
7.3%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Emmaus?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Emmaus work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Allentown (11%, 4 mi), Upper Macungie Township (7%, 7 mi), Bethlehem (7%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Emmaus walkable?
Emmaus is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 15.4 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Emmaus without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 40% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Emmaus, from the people who make the trip.
More of Emmaus
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.