Laflin has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
281 jobs are based in Laflin; 789 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Laflin A+; getting around on foot earns it C−. Household incomes here are higher than in 88% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Laflin, in brief
Fewer jobs are based in Laflin than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Laflin fell from 731 in 2013 to 281 in 2023, −62%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Laflin and Wilkes-Barre trade workers both ways
Wilkes-Barre is the top workplace for Laflin residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Laflin come from (11% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most Laflin residents work close to home
62% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. How far ↓
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; with 789 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Laflin
On income, poverty and job access, Laflin is better than 96% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate is its strongest input (2.3%, U.S. 12.5%); job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 70% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
Unemployment (3.4%) is left out: Laflin’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Laflin could be anywhere from A to A+.
The kinds of work in Laflin
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Laflin, 2013 → 2023: 731 → 281. 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 Laflin’s own residents hold wherever they work.
21% of working residents work in Wilkes-Barre
Where Laflin clocks in
21% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Laflin
About 16% 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.
Laflin quiets down on a workday
On a workday 782 residents head out to work, 7 work right here, and 274 people come in from elsewhere.
About 960 people are in Laflin on a workday afternoon, 35% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
About 19 minutes to work from Laflin
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Laflin workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 665 commuters (the 14% 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.
Most trips from Laflin start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Laflin is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Laflin 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 769 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). 6.4% of Laflin households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Laflin’s commuters take a bus or train.
148th of 6,308: where Laflin ranks among U.S. towns of 1,000 to 2,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Somerset MD | 1,151 | $250K | 1.9% | 2.3% | <1% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Bellerose NY | 1,169 | $232K | 1.6% | 6.1% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Bryn Athyn PA | 1,304 | $143K | 0.3% | 2.6% | 16% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Rose Valley PA | 1,017 | $247K | 2.9% | 1.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Bradford Woods PA | 1,126 | $153K | 1.9% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 146 | Walford IA | 1,359 | $129K | 1.1% | 2.8% | <1% | A+ |
| 147 | Long Lake MN | 1,944 | $109K | 5.5% | 1.5% | 6% | A+ |
| 148 | Laflin PA | 1,468 | $121K | 2.3% | 3.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 149 | Bel-Nor MO | 1,351 | $111K | 5.8% | 8.0% | 1% | A+ |
| 150 | Kanwaka Township KS | 1,493 | $126K | 2.5% | 1.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6,308 | Oglala SD | 1,071 | $21K | 68.8% | 26.5% | 0% | 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 Laflin, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Work in the towns next to Laflin
The biggest share goes to Jenkins Township (3%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Laflin workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laflin | – | A+ | C− | 19 min | $120,833 |
| Jenkins Township | 3% | C+ | C | 19 min | $54,878 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Laflin’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 Laflin: questions
What is the median household income in Laflin?
$120,833 (±$10,780) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Laflin?
2.3%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Laflin?
19 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Laflin work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Wilkes-Barre (21%, 5 mi), Plains Township (12%, 2 mi), Scranton (6%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Laflin walkable?
Laflin is more walkable than 17% of U.S. towns (Walkability C−): an EPA walkability index of 5.7 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Laflin without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Laflin, from the people who make the trip.
More of Laflin
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.