Allegheny River Lock and Dam No. 7 · Photo: User:Nyttend · Public domainAt 1.9%, unemployment in Kittanning is lower than in 86% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Kittanning are C+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. About one in seven stay in Kittanning for work; outside it, East Franklin Township is the main destination (12%, 3 miles). A typical one-way commute lasts 25 minutes (Pennsylvania 26, U.S. 26).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Kittanning stands out on work
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Kittanning
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Kittanning is better than 35% of U.S. towns, #828 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Unemployment holds Kittanning’s grade up; the poverty rate pulls it down (20.7%, U.S. 12.5%).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Kittanning could be anywhere from C− to B−.
The daily commute in and out of Kittanning
On a workday 1,344 residents head out to work, 221 work right here, and 1,658 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 (1.20 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.
Where Kittanning’s working residents head each day
Where Kittanning clocks in
12% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
The kinds of work in Kittanning
1,879 jobs are based in Kittanning.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Kittanning, 2013 → 2023: 1,693 → 1,879. 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 Kittanning’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 25 minutes in Kittanning
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Kittanning workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,533 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.
The commute from Kittanning, by distance
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Kittanning
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Kittanning is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #122 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Kittanning 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 1,700 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). 22.4% of Kittanning households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Kittanning’s commuters take a bus or train.
Kittanning places 2,725th of 4,084 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,800 to 5,300
| # | 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 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 64 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,723 | Creve Coeur IL | 4,816 | $48K | 17.7% | 4.0% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,724 | Baltimore OH | 3,110 | $60K | 12.5% | 6.6% | 8% | C+ |
| 2,725 | Kittanning PA | 3,941 | $52K | 20.7% | 1.9% | 14% | C+ |
| 2,726 | Chester Township PA | 4,068 | $58K | 16.3% | 6.8% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,727 | Suncoast Estates FL | 4,369 | $39K | 26.4% | 2.0% | 1% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,084 | 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 Kittanning, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Work next door: 19% of Kittanning’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Kittanning workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kittanning | – | C+ | A | 25 min | $51,711 |
| Rayburn Township | 2% | C | C+ | 25 min | $69,688 |
| Manor Township | 5% | B | C− | 24 min | $75,152 |
| East Franklin Township | 12% | B+ | C− | 23 min | $98,025 |
| West Hills | under 2% | — | — | 18 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. West Hills: 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 East Franklin Township. Darker towns draw more of Kittanning’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 Kittanning: questions
What is the median household income in Kittanning?
$51,711 (±$12,955) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Kittanning?
20.7%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Kittanning?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Kittanning work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are East Franklin Township (12%, 3 mi), Pittsburgh (5%, 36 mi), Manor Township (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Kittanning walkable?
Kittanning is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 9.9 out of 20, and 16% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Kittanning without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 22% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Kittanning, from the people who make the trip.
More of Kittanning
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.