More people are out of work in Etna (8.5%) than in 90% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 6.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 37.5 in Pittsburgh. Etna grades C for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. Household incomes here are lower than in 83% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Etna: the figures worth knowing
Etna trades workers with the towns around it
Etna has about as many jobs (1,426) as working residents (1,591), but they are mostly different people: 1,514 residents leave for work each day while 1,349 people come in. Only 5% of the jobs in Etna are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
A lot of Etna works one town over
36% of working residents work in a town that borders Etna: Pittsburgh (33%) and Shaler Township (3%). Next door ↓
Most Etna residents work close to home
71% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 8% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Etna’s working residents have a job less than 5 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 30 minutes, longer than the Pennsylvania average of 26. Time on the road ↓
A longer commute than the towns next door
Etna averages 30 minutes each way, more than any bordering town (23 to 25 minutes). Next door ↓
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.
Where Etna’s Jobs & income grade comes from
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Etna is better than 28% of U.S. towns, #886 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Etna’s grade up (ahead of 93% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Etna could be anywhere from C− to B+.
In and out of Etna on a workday
On a workday 1,514 residents head out to work, 77 work right here, and 1,349 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 (0.90 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.
Miles to work from Etna
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.
Etna’s commute takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Etna workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,356 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.
33% of working residents work in Pittsburgh
Where Etna clocks in
33% 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.
In Etna, 29% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
1,426 jobs are based in Etna.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Etna, 2013 → 2023: 999 → 1,426. 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 Etna’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Etna is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Etna is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns, #43 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Etna 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 1,580 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, 100% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 6.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 88% 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). 18.2% of Etna households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 6% of Etna’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Etna is 3,231st of 4,453 U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | West Pikeland Township PA | 4,045 | $226K | 0.9% | 2.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 66 | Trappe PA | 4,061 | $127K | 4.5% | 1.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,229 | Penrose CO | 4,087 | $88K | 11.3% | 7.1% | 7% | C |
| 3,230 | Moulton AL | 3,436 | $58K | 13.0% | 4.6% | 14% | C |
| 3,231 | Etna PA | 3,269 | $54K | 17.8% | 8.5% | 5% | C |
| 3,232 | Gregg Township IN | 3,046 | $68K | 16.4% | 8.4% | 2% | C |
| 3,233 | Hayward WI | 3,928 | $67K | 15.9% | 3.2% | 25% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | 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 Etna, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
36% of Etna works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Pittsburgh (33%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Etna workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etna | – | C | A+ | 30 min | $53,654 |
| Shaler Township | 3% | A− | B+ | 23 min | $95,654 |
| Sharpsburg | under 2% | C+ | A+ | 25 min | $59,228 |
| Pittsburgh | 33% | C+ | A+ | 23 min | $65,742 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Etna’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 Etna: questions
What is the median household income in Etna?
$53,654 (±$15,089) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Etna?
17.8%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Etna?
30 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Etna work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (33%, 4 mi), Ross Township (4%, 4 mi), McCandless Township (3%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Etna walkable?
Etna is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.8 out of 20, and 12% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Etna without a car?
6% of commuters take transit and 18% of households have no car. 100% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Etna, from the people who make the trip.
More of Etna
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.