Photo: Ii2nmd · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Lower Merion Township earn more than those in 97% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 6.3% of residents; Pennsylvania has 11.7%. About one in seven work in Lower Merion Township itself; outside it, Philadelphia draws the most (37%, 8 miles). Home is the office for 32% of workers (Pennsylvania 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Lower Merion Township at work: what stands out
Much of Lower Merion Township works one town over
45% of working residents work in a town that borders Lower Merion Township: Philadelphia (37%), Radnor Township (3%) and Upper Merion Township (3%). Next door ↓
Home offices are common in Lower Merion Township
32% of Lower Merion Township workers work from home, against 16% across Pennsylvania. Time on the road ↓
Lower Merion Township is where the jobs are
Lower Merion Township has 48,757 jobs, 1.8 for every working resident. Day and night ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Lower Merion Township’s working residents have a job less than 8 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 29 minutes, longer than the Pennsylvania average of 26. Time on the road ↓
Most Lower Merion Township residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
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.
Inside Lower Merion Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lower Merion Township is better than 88% of U.S. towns, #197 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Household income holds Lower Merion Township’s grade up ($176,512, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (4.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lower Merion Township could be anywhere from A− to A.
Each way, about 29 minutes from Lower Merion Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lower Merion Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 20,726 commuters (the 32% 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 workday shuffle in and out of Lower Merion Township
On a workday 23,334 residents head out to work, 3,510 work right here, and 45,247 people come in from elsewhere.
About 87,000 people are in Lower Merion Township on a workday afternoon, 34% more than live here.
1.8 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
How far Lower Merion Township’s workers travel
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.
Who travels to work in Lower Merion Township, and from where
Where Lower Merion Township clocks in
37% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
In Lower Merion Township, services account for most jobs
48,757 jobs are based in Lower Merion Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lower Merion Township, 2014 → 2024: 38,514 → 48,757. 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 Lower Merion Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Lower Merion Township is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 30,284 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 82% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 29% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 14.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 96% 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). 7.6% of Lower Merion Township households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 10% of Lower Merion Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Lower Merion Township next to U.S. towns of 45,000 to 87,000: 136th of 698 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Lakeville MN | 79,270 | $139K | 2.9% | 2.0% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Fulshear TX | 64,630 | $187K | 1.6% | 2.8% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Haverford Township PA | 50,997 | $132K | 3.4% | 4.3% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | Middletown Township PA | 45,547 | $114K | 5.4% | 4.0% | 10% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 130 | Lower Paxton Township PA | 55,564 | $92K | 6.1% | 2.3% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 134 | Rockville MD | 67,563 | $129K | 7.6% | 3.9% | 14% | A |
| 135 | Beavercreek Township OH | 57,924 | $117K | 6.1% | 3.3% | 19% | A |
| 136 | Lower Merion Township PA | 64,691 | $177K | 6.3% | 4.9% | 13% | A |
| 137 | The Colony TX | 46,196 | $115K | 6.7% | 4.1% | 4% | A |
| 138 | North Richland Hills TX | 70,843 | $97K | 7.2% | 3.2% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 698 | Pahrump NV | 47,347 | $62K | 13.7% | 8.5% | 27% | 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 Lower Merion Township, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Work next door: 45% of Lower Merion Township’s workers
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lower Merion Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Merion Township | – | A | A+ | 29 min | $176,512 |
| Philadelphia | 37% | C | A+ | 32 min | $61,953 |
| Haverford Township | 1% | A | A+ | 27 min | $131,674 |
| Radnor Township | 3% | A− | A+ | 24 min | $164,359 |
| West Conshohocken | under 1% | A+ | A+ | 24 min | $139,375 |
| Whitemarsh Township | under 1% | A | A | 27 min | $148,970 |
| Upper Merion Township | 3% | A | A | 25 min | $121,985 |
| Conshohocken | 1% | A+ | A+ | 28 min | $122,721 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Philadelphia. Darker towns draw more of Lower Merion Township’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 Lower Merion Township: questions
What is the median household income in Lower Merion Township?
$176,512 (±$12,969) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lower Merion Township?
6.3%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lower Merion Township?
29 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 32% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lower Merion Township work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Philadelphia (37%, 8 mi), Tredyffrin Township (3%, 9 mi), Upper Merion Township (3%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Lower Merion Township walkable?
Lower Merion Township is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.0 out of 20, and 19% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lower Merion Township without a car?
10% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 29% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lower Merion Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lower Merion Township
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.