Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0Ferguson Township has higher family incomes than 86% of U.S. towns
Without college students, the poverty rate is 8.7% (Pennsylvania 11.1%). Ferguson Township grades B+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. About one in ten work in Ferguson Township; the top destination outside it is College Township (35%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Ferguson Township: the figures worth knowing
Much of Ferguson Township works one town over
53% of working residents work in a town that borders Ferguson Township: College Township (35%), State College (11%) and Patton Township (6%). Next door ↓
Ferguson Township trades workers with the towns around it
Ferguson Township has about as many jobs (7,294) as working residents (6,595), but they are mostly different people: 5,851 residents leave for work each day while 6,550 people come in. Only 10% of the jobs in Ferguson Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Commutes from Ferguson Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 16 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 77 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. Time on the road ↓
Most Ferguson Township residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Ferguson Township draws workers from far and wide
The 7,294 jobs in Ferguson Township are filled from a wide area. Ferguson Township’s own residents hold 10% and the ten next-biggest home towns 31%; the other 59% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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 four measures behind Ferguson Township’s grade
On family income, poverty and job access, Ferguson Township is better than 71% of U.S. towns, #444 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Family income holds Ferguson Township’s grade up ($135,733, U.S. $99,999); job access by car pulls it down (ahead of 50% of U.S. towns). It also does well on the poverty rate.
20% of Ferguson Township’s residents are college students, and off-campus students count in the Census poverty figures. Where students are 15% or more of the people the Census checks for poverty (20% here), the grade uses the rate without them: 8.7%, against 18.2% for all residents. Unemployment (4.8%) is left out here: students looking for part-time work count as unemployed. Income is ranked as median family income ($135,733), since student households pull the household median down ($85,935).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for family income and poverty, Ferguson Township could be anywhere from B to A.
Who leaves Ferguson Township for work, and who comes in
On a workday 5,851 residents head out to work, 744 work right here, and 6,550 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 (1.11 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.
From Ferguson Township, about 16 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Ferguson Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,764 commuters (the 22% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Ferguson Township
About 22% 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.
Where people from Ferguson Township work
Where Ferguson Township clocks in
35% of workers
11% 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.
What work there is in Ferguson Township: 7,294 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Ferguson Township, 2013 → 2023: 7,012 → 7,294. 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 Ferguson Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Ferguson Township is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,905 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 75% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 46% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 14.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 96% 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). 12.1% of Ferguson Township households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 4% of Ferguson Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Ferguson Township ranks: 829th of 1,915 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 25,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Lower Moreland Township PA | 14,116 | $154K | 2.6% | 2.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | West Whiteland Township PA | 20,826 | $133K | 3.0% | 1.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Skippack Township PA | 14,502 | $148K | 2.5% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 827 | Elmwood Park IL | 23,675 | $92K | 8.0% | 5.9% | 4% | B+ |
| 828 | Broussard LA | 15,799 | $116K | 13.4% | 3.6% | 12% | B+ |
| 829 | Ferguson Township PA | 18,813 | $86K | 18.2% | 4.8% | 11% | B+ |
| 830 | Colchester VT | 17,565 | $98K | 7.0% | 3.8% | 16% | B+ |
| 831 | Kettering MD | 14,014 | $127K | 8.7% | 7.3% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,915 | 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 Ferguson Township, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
The towns next door employ 53% of Ferguson Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Ferguson Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferguson Township | – | B+ | A+ | 16 min | $85,935 |
| State College | 11% | B+ | A+ | 16 min | $45,424 |
| Barree Township | under 1% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Franklin Township | under 1% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| College Township | 35% | A− | A+ | 16 min | $101,323 |
| Patton Township | 6% | A− | A+ | 18 min | $83,656 |
| Halfmoon Township | under 1% | B+ | C+ | 25 min | $121,050 |
| Jackson Township | under 1% | — | — | 36 min | — |
| Harris Township | 1% | B | A− | 16 min | $103,377 |
Same-state neighbors only. Barree Township, Franklin Township and Jackson Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to College Township. Darker towns draw more of Ferguson 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.
- Students. 20% of residents are college students; the poverty input leaves off-campus students out (above).
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Ferguson Township: questions
What is the median household income in Ferguson Township?
$85,935 (±$6,487) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Ferguson Township?
18.2% of residents live below the poverty line; leaving out college students, 8.7%. Pennsylvania: 11.7%.
How long is the commute from Ferguson Township?
16 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Ferguson Township work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are College Township (35%, 8 mi), State College (11%, 6 mi), Patton Township (6%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Ferguson Township walkable?
Ferguson Township is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.1 out of 20, and 15% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Ferguson Township without a car?
4% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 46% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Ferguson Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Ferguson 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.