Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0Unemployment in Laureldale (6.6%) is higher than in 79% of U.S. towns
3% of workers work from home (Pennsylvania 16%). For jobs and income Laureldale is better than 45% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (B+). Only 3% work in Laureldale itself; outside it, Reading draws the most (12%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Laureldale, in brief
How Laureldale earns its Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Laureldale’s grade up (ahead of 84% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Laureldale could be anywhere from C− to A−.
The trip to work from Laureldale: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Laureldale workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,140 commuters (the 3% 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 daily flow of workers through Laureldale
On a workday 2,045 residents head out to work, 56 work right here, and 1,193 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,500 people are in Laureldale on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.59 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.
Where people from Laureldale work
Where Laureldale clocks in
12% of workers
11% of workers
7% 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 the 1,249 jobs in Laureldale are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Laureldale, 2013 → 2023: 968 → 1,249. 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 Laureldale’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Laureldale’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Laureldale is a driving town
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.0% 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 2,207 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). 3.2% of Laureldale households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Laureldale’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Laureldale ranks: 2,386th of 4,136 U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,900
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 72 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,384 | Walnut Township OH | 3,115 | $101K | 22.0% | 4.4% | 1% | B− |
| 2,385 | Morganfield KY | 3,102 | $66K | 15.9% | 0.4% | 22% | B− |
| 2,386 | Laureldale PA | 4,352 | $70K | 12.0% | 6.6% | 3% | B− |
| 2,387 | Captain Cook HI | 3,419 | $109K | 4.4% | 8.2% | 5% | B− |
| 2,388 | Williston FL | 3,456 | $61K | 15.8% | 1.7% | 16% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,136 | 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 Laureldale, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
The towns around Laureldale
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Laureldale workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laureldale | – | B− | B+ | 26 min | $69,821 |
| South Temple | under 3% | — | — | 39 min | — |
| Hyde Park | under 3% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. South Temple and Hyde Park: 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 Laureldale’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 Laureldale: questions
What is the median household income in Laureldale?
$69,821 (±$17,518) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Laureldale?
12.0%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Laureldale?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Laureldale work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Reading (12%, 4 mi), Muhlenberg Township (11%, 1 mi), Maxatawny Township (7%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Laureldale walkable?
Laureldale is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.3 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Laureldale without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Laureldale, from the people who make the trip.
More of Laureldale
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.