Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 3.0Leesport has 0.5 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Leesport grades B+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. 581 jobs are based in Leesport for 1,103 working residents. Only 4% work in Leesport itself; outside it, Reading draws the most (9%, 8 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Leesport apart
Fewer jobs are based in Leesport than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Leesport fell from 969 in 2014 to 581 in 2024, −40%. 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 ↓
Leesport makes and builds things
45% of the jobs based in Leesport are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Leesport residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 27%. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Leesport 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, and quicker than any town next door (24 to 27 minutes). Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Leesport’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Leesport is better than 71% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Leesport’s grade up (ahead of 79% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Leesport could be anywhere from B− to A+.
Goods jobs make up 45% of work in Leesport
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Leesport, 2014 → 2024: 969 → 581. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Leesport’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Getting to work from Leesport 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 Leesport workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,070 commuters (the 12% 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.
Who works in Leesport, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 1,058 residents head out to work, 45 work right here, and 536 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,400 people are in Leesport on a workday afternoon, 27% 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where the trip to work from Leesport ends
Where Leesport clocks in
9% of workers
7% 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Leesport
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Leesport is a driving town
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Leesport is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% 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 1,216 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). 7.7% of Leesport households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Leesport’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Leesport is 1,127th among 5,509 U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Newtown PA | 2,257 | $166K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 7% | A+ |
| 31 | Edgeworth PA | 1,611 | $203K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | West Conshohocken PA | 1,498 | $139K | 5.0% | 1.6% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,125 | Carson WI | 1,403 | $90K | 3.8% | 2.5% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,126 | Sunnyside-Tahoe City CA | 1,599 | $118K | 1.4% | 0.0% | 20% | B+ |
| 1,127 | Leesport PA | 1,964 | $96K | 5.6% | 5.9% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,128 | Roanoke Township IL | 2,381 | $82K | 4.8% | 3.1% | 15% | B+ |
| 1,129 | Lebanon WI | 1,629 | $79K | 3.6% | 3.5% | 1% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,509 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Leesport, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Work next door: 11% of Leesport’s workers
The biggest share goes to Bern Township (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Leesport workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leesport | – | B+ | B | 20 min | $95,577 |
| Bern Township | 7% | A+ | C+ | 24 min | $117,897 |
| Ontelaunee Township | 4% | A− | C− | 27 min | $111,154 |
| Centre Township | under 3% | A | D | 26 min | $95,375 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Leesport’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 2024, 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 Leesport: questions
What is the median household income in Leesport?
$95,577 (±$14,813) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Leesport?
5.6%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Leesport?
20 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Leesport work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Reading (9%, 8 mi), Muhlenberg Township (7%, 4 mi), Bern Township (7%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Leesport walkable?
Leesport is more walkable than 62% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 9.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Leesport without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Leesport, from the people who make the trip.
More of Leesport
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.