Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Lower Towamensing Township (3.0%) than in 70% of U.S. towns
Home is the office for 4% of workers, where Pennsylvania as a whole has 16%. Lower Towamensing Township grades B for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. Only 4% work in Lower Towamensing Township itself; outside it, Allentown draws the most (6%, 16 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Lower Towamensing Township apart on work
Lower Towamensing Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Lower Towamensing Township went from 527 in 2013 to 1,012 in 2023, +92%. The jobs ↓
Lower Towamensing Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 26 across Pennsylvania. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 69 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Many jobs in Lower Towamensing Township pay little
31% of the jobs based in Lower Towamensing Township pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 31% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Few Lower Towamensing Township workers work from home
Only 4% of workers work from home, against 16% across Pennsylvania. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Lower Towamensing Township
66% of Lower Towamensing Township residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 48% of the jobs based in Lower Towamensing Township pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Lower Towamensing Township’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Lower Towamensing Township is better than 59% of U.S. towns, #602 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Unemployment holds Lower Towamensing Township’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($68,789, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Lower Towamensing Township could be anywhere from C to A−.
What the 1,012 jobs in Lower Towamensing Township are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Lower Towamensing Township, 2013 → 2023: 527 → 1,012. 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 Lower Towamensing Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Lower Towamensing Township’s commute takes about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Lower Towamensing Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,420 commuters (the 4% 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.
How a workday changes Lower Towamensing Township
On a workday 1,408 residents head out to work, 62 work right here, and 950 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,700 people are in Lower Towamensing Township on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.69 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 the trip to work from Lower Towamensing Township ends
Where Lower Towamensing Township clocks in
6% of workers
6% 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.
How far it is to work from Lower Towamensing Township
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.
In Lower Towamensing Township, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Lower Towamensing Township is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns, #688 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 3.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 8.6% across Pennsylvania, on an EPA index of 5.0.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,485 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). 1.6% of Lower Towamensing Township households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Lower Towamensing Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Lower Towamensing Township is 1,770th among 4,562 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Newtown PA | 2,257 | $166K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 59 | West Pikeland Township PA | 4,045 | $226K | 0.9% | 2.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,768 | Wiscasset ME | 3,998 | $71K | 5.7% | 2.6% | 13% | B |
| 1,769 | New Hampton NH | 2,428 | $95K | 13.2% | 0.6% | 6% | B |
| 1,770 | Lower Towamensing Township PA | 3,113 | $69K | 8.8% | 3.0% | 4% | B |
| 1,771 | Berlin VT | 2,948 | $87K | 10.9% | 2.9% | 14% | B |
| 1,772 | Minden NV | 3,707 | $100K | 13.3% | 2.1% | 23% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,562 | 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 Lower Towamensing Township, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Lower Towamensing Township and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Lower Towamensing Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Towamensing Township | – | B | C+ | 35 min | $68,789 |
| Palmerton | 6% | B | A− | 30 min | $68,143 |
| Bowmanstown | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Lehigh Township | under 3% | A− | D | 29 min | $89,741 |
| East Penn Township | under 3% | C+ | D | 41 min | $70,294 |
| Towamensing Township | under 3% | B− | D | 27 min | $69,245 |
| Eldred Township | under 3% | B | C+ | 34 min | $70,526 |
| Moore Township | under 3% | A | D | 27 min | $102,789 |
| Mahoning Township | under 3% | B+ | C | 31 min | $71,881 |
| Parryville | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Bowmanstown and Parryville: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Palmerton. Darker towns draw more of Lower Towamensing 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 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 Lower Towamensing Township: questions
What is the median household income in Lower Towamensing Township?
$68,789 (±$5,946) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Lower Towamensing Township?
8.8%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Lower Towamensing Township?
35 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Lower Towamensing Township work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Allentown (6%, 16 mi), Palmerton (6%, 2 mi), Upper Macungie Township (6%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Lower Towamensing Township walkable?
Lower Towamensing Township is more walkable than 42% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 5.0 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Lower Towamensing Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Lower Towamensing Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Lower Towamensing Township
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.