Photo: Idawriter · CC BY-SA 3.0Hanover has higher unemployment (8.9%) than 92% of U.S. towns
Jobs and income earn Hanover C; getting around on foot earns it A. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 37.7 in Philadelphia. 5% of workers work from home, against 16% across Pennsylvania.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Hanover apart
The quickest commute around
Hanover’s 23-minute average trip is shorter than in any town next door, where it runs from 28 to 35 minutes. Next door ↓
Hanover gains people on a workday
About 20,000 people are in Hanover on a workday afternoon, 23% more than the 17,000 who live here: 10,000 come in to work and 6,600 head out. Day and night ↓
Hanover draws workers from far and wide
The 11,943 jobs in Hanover are filled from a wide area. Hanover’s own residents hold 13% and the ten next-biggest home towns 30%; the other 57% 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 figures behind Hanover’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Hanover is better than 26% of U.S. towns, #902 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Hanover’s grade up (ahead of 68% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Hanover could be anywhere from C− to C+.
Hanover by day and by night
On a workday 6,594 residents head out to work, 1,571 work right here, and 10,372 people come in from elsewhere.
About 20,000 people are in Hanover on a workday afternoon, 23% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.46 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.
11% of working residents work in Penn Township
Where Hanover clocks in
3% 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.
Jobs in Hanover: what the 11,943 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Hanover, 2013 → 2023: 12,498 → 11,943. 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 Hanover’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Hanover, about 23 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Hanover workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 7,973 commuters (the 5% 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 it is to work from Hanover
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.
In Hanover, walking beats the bus
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 5.1% 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 8,427 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 90% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 72% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 55% 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). 9.1% of Hanover households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Hanover’s commuters take a bus or train.
1,667th of 1,999: where Hanover ranks among U.S. towns of 12,000 to 23,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | West Whiteland Township PA | 20,826 | $133K | 3.0% | 1.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Skippack Township PA | 14,502 | $148K | 2.5% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,665 | Beckley WV | 16,373 | $46K | 28.9% | 3.2% | 40% | C |
| 1,666 | Rock Springs WY | 22,936 | $69K | 16.1% | 5.2% | 54% | C |
| 1,667 | Hanover PA | 16,684 | $61K | 14.5% | 8.9% | 19% | C |
| 1,668 | Herrin IL | 12,268 | $60K | 14.5% | 5.9% | 17% | C |
| 1,669 | Pendleton OR | 16,989 | $67K | 15.0% | 4.9% | 47% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | 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 Hanover, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Next door is work for 11% of Hanover
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Hanover workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanover | – | C | A | 23 min | $61,293 |
| Penn Township | 11% | B | B | 30 min | $85,199 |
| Pennville | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Parkville | under 2% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Pennville and Parkville: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Penn Township. Darker towns draw more of Hanover’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 Hanover: questions
What is the median household income in Hanover?
$61,293 (±$7,213) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Hanover?
14.5%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Hanover?
23 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 5% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Hanover work?
19% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Penn Township (11%, 1 mi), Conewago Township (3%, 2 mi), Baltimore (3%, 41 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Hanover walkable?
Hanover is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Hanover without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 72% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Hanover, from the people who make the trip.
More of Hanover
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.