Photo: Nyttend · Public domainAt 8.9%, unemployment in Liberty is higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
Working residents average 34 minutes each way (Pennsylvania 26, U.S. 26). The two grades for Liberty are C+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. Only 2% stay in Liberty for work; outside it, Pittsburgh is the main destination (23%, 10 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Liberty, in brief
Liberty is a place people come home to
There are 196 jobs based in Liberty, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Liberty has about 1,300 people in it, 44% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Liberty workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 34 minutes each way, against 26 across Pennsylvania. Over a year that’s about 261 hours of commuting, 61 more than the state’s typical worker. Every town next door averages less (25 to 31 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.
Jobs & income in Liberty: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Liberty is better than 39% of U.S. towns. Job access by car holds Liberty’s grade up (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Liberty could be anywhere from C− to A.
Liberty by day and by night
On a workday 1,156 residents head out to work, 27 work right here, and 169 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,300 people are in Liberty on a workday afternoon, 44% fewer than live here.
0.17 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 2024, primary jobs.
From Liberty, about 34 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Liberty workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 934 commuters (the 15% 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 Liberty goes to work
Where Liberty clocks in
23% of workers
6% 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 196 jobs based in Liberty
196 jobs are based in Liberty.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Liberty, 2014 → 2024: 237 → 196. 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 Liberty’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from Liberty
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.
The commute in Liberty is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Liberty is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Liberty 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 1,096 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 50% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 0.8% of Liberty households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Liberty’s commuters take a bus or train.
Liberty next to U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,000: 2,746th of 5,102 on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Newtown PA | 2,257 | $166K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 7% | A+ |
| 25 | Edgeworth PA | 1,611 | $203K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | South Coventry Township PA | 2,822 | $158K | 0.9% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,744 | Cokato MN | 2,793 | $70K | 14.4% | 3.2% | 23% | C+ |
| 2,745 | Lake Placid NY | 2,258 | $42K | 9.0% | 1.1% | 27% | C+ |
| 2,746 | Liberty PA | 2,242 | $74K | 13.3% | 8.9% | 2% | C+ |
| 2,747 | Dover TN | 1,918 | $75K | 7.0% | 2.2% | 21% | C+ |
| 2,748 | Van TX | 2,993 | $69K | 8.7% | 5.5% | 16% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5,102 | 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 Liberty, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Around Liberty: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to McKeesport (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Liberty workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | – | C+ | B | 34 min | $73,786 |
| Lincoln | under 2% | — | — | 25 min | — |
| Port Vue | 2% | C+ | B− | 31 min | $58,194 |
| McKeesport | 5% | D | A+ | 27 min | $34,219 |
| Glassport | under 2% | C− | A | 26 min | $47,803 |
Same-state neighbors only. Lincoln: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Liberty’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 Liberty: questions
What is the median household income in Liberty?
$73,786 (±$12,877) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Liberty?
13.3%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Liberty?
34 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Liberty work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (23%, 10 mi), West Mifflin (6%, 3 mi), McKeesport (5%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Liberty walkable?
Liberty is more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.6 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Liberty without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Liberty, from the people who make the trip.
More of Liberty
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.