Photo: Dronesquad2 · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Hamburg have lower incomes than those in 81% of U.S. towns
Only 8% stay in Hamburg for work; outside it, Tilden Township is the main destination (6%, 3 miles). 2.4% of residents live below the poverty line; Pennsylvania has 11.7%. Jobs and income earn Hamburg B+; getting around on foot earns it B.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Hamburg at work: what stands out
No single place dominates Hamburg’s commute
The biggest draw, Tilden Township, gets only 6% of working residents, and 59% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Hamburg residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Hamburg has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Hamburg went from 1,274 in 2013 to 1,739 in 2023, +36%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Inside Hamburg’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hamburg is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #489 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The poverty rate holds Hamburg’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($55,446, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on unemployment and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hamburg could be anywhere from C+ to A.
The towns that employ Hamburg’s residents
Where Hamburg clocks in
6% 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.
What Hamburg’s employers do
1,739 jobs are based in Hamburg.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hamburg, 2013 → 2023: 1,274 → 1,739. 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 Hamburg’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How a workday changes Hamburg
On a workday 2,140 residents head out to work, 184 work right here, and 1,555 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,000 people are in Hamburg on a workday afternoon, 13% fewer than live here.
0.75 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
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 Hamburg, about 27 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hamburg workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,188 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.
Where in the region Hamburg works
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 Hamburg start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Hamburg is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #504 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.3% 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 2,401 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). 7.7% of Hamburg households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Hamburg’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Hamburg is 1,330th of 3,862 U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,100
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,328 | Frankenmuth MI | 5,197 | $85K | 4.9% | 4.7% | 33% | B+ |
| 1,329 | Highland Falls NY | 3,631 | $111K | 7.2% | 6.6% | 10% | B+ |
| 1,330 | Hamburg PA | 4,551 | $55K | 2.4% | 3.6% | 8% | B+ |
| 1,331 | Woolwich ME | 3,287 | $102K | 13.3% | 1.8% | 9% | B+ |
| 1,332 | Winfield Township PA | 3,287 | $91K | 4.1% | 5.7% | 5% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,862 | 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 Hamburg, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Next door to Hamburg
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hamburg workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamburg | – | B+ | B | 27 min | $55,446 |
| Tilden Township | 6% | B+ | B− | 28 min | $80,168 |
| West Hamburg | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Windsor Township | under 2% | A− | B− | 31 min | $99,023 |
Same-state neighbors only. West Hamburg: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Tilden Township. Darker towns draw more of Hamburg’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 Hamburg: questions
What is the median household income in Hamburg?
$55,446 (±$16,466) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hamburg?
2.4%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hamburg?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hamburg work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tilden Township (6%, 3 mi), Maxatawny Township (6%, 13 mi), Reading (6%, 15 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hamburg walkable?
Hamburg is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 9.2 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hamburg without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hamburg, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hamburg
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.