Photo: Darthgriz98 · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Johnstown have lower incomes than those in 97% of U.S. towns
About one in four work in Johnstown itself; outside it, Richland Township draws the most (11%, 5 miles). Below the poverty line: 31.9% of residents, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania. For jobs and income Johnstown is better than 12% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (A).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Johnstown: the figures worth knowing
Johnstown is where the jobs are
Johnstown has 10,364 jobs, 1.8 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
The jobs in Johnstown pay better than its residents’ jobs
58% of the jobs based in Johnstown pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 41% of the jobs Johnstown residents hold. 87% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Johnstown. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Johnstown are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. Time on the road ↓
Johnstown draws workers from far and wide
The 10,364 jobs in Johnstown are filled from a wide area. Johnstown’s own residents hold 13% and the ten next-biggest home towns 31%; the other 56% 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Johnstown
Job access by car holds Johnstown’s grade up (ahead of 56% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($37,888, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Johnstown could be anywhere from D to C−.
The daily commute in and out of Johnstown
On a workday 4,449 residents head out to work, 1,398 work right here, and 8,966 people come in from elsewhere.
About 22,000 people are in Johnstown on a workday afternoon, 26% more than live here.
1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
Jobs in Johnstown: what the 10,364 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Johnstown, 2013 → 2023: 12,301 → 10,364. 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 Johnstown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Johnstown takes about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Johnstown workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,259 commuters (the 10% 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 the people who work in Johnstown live
Where Johnstown clocks in
11% of workers
2% of workers
2% 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.
How many miles Johnstown commutes
About 26% 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.
In Johnstown, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 6,964 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). 25.8% of Johnstown households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Johnstown’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 12,000 to 24,000, and where Johnstown sits
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | West Whiteland Township PA | 20,826 | $133K | 3.0% | 1.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 27 | Skippack Township PA | 14,502 | $148K | 2.5% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,999 | Picayune MS | 12,019 | $41K | 20.6% | 6.0% | 23% | D |
| 2,000 | Murray KY | 18,964 | $44K | 24.1% | 5.8% | 41% | D |
| 2,001 | Johnstown PA | 17,654 | $38K | 31.9% | 6.2% | 24% | D |
| 2,002 | Altus OK | 18,707 | $55K | 17.4% | 6.5% | 55% | D |
| 2,003 | Beeville TX | 13,086 | $51K | 22.1% | 5.1% | 30% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 2,103 | 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 Johnstown, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Next door to Johnstown
The biggest share goes to Lower Yoder Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Johnstown workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnstown | – | D | A | 20 min | $37,888 |
| Lower Yoder Township | 2% | C− | C+ | 24 min | $42,970 |
| Westmont | under 2% | B | C+ | 22 min | $108,988 |
| Stonycreek Township | under 2% | C+ | C | 18 min | $54,648 |
| West Taylor Township | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Oakland | under 2% | — | — | 16 min | — |
| Southmont | under 2% | B− | B+ | 26 min | $73,400 |
| East Taylor Township | under 2% | C | D | 24 min | $70,313 |
| Elim | under 2% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Ferndale | under 2% | C | A− | 20 min | $56,625 |
| Upper Yoder Township | 2% | B− | C+ | 23 min | $66,974 |
Same-state neighbors only. West Taylor Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Oakland and Elim: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Johnstown’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 Johnstown: questions
What is the median household income in Johnstown?
$37,888 (±$4,923) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Johnstown?
31.9%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Johnstown?
20 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Johnstown work?
24% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Richland Township (11%, 5 mi), Pittsburgh (2%, 56 mi), Upper Yoder Township (2%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Johnstown walkable?
Johnstown is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.6 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Johnstown without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 26% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Johnstown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Johnstown
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.