Unemployment in Manchester (0.1%) is lower than in 98% of U.S. towns
Only 3% work in Manchester; the top destination outside it is York (8%, 7 miles). For jobs and income Manchester is better than 85% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (C). Working residents average 35 minutes each way, where Pennsylvania has 26 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Manchester: the figures worth knowing
The figures behind Manchester’s Jobs & income grade
Unemployment is its strongest input; household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($77,202, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Manchester could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Getting to work from Manchester takes about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Manchester workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,308 commuters (the 14% 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.
Manchester quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,308 residents head out to work, 37 work right here, and 626 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Manchester on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
0.49 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.
Where the trip to work from Manchester ends
Where Manchester clocks in
8% 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.
70% of the jobs in Manchester pay over $3,333 a month
663 jobs are based in Manchester.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Manchester, 2014 → 2024: 683 → 663. 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 Manchester’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Manchester
About 15% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Getting around Manchester: mostly by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,515 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 31% 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 0.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 51% 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). 9.6% of Manchester households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Manchester’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Manchester ranks: 551st of 4,703 U.S. towns of 2,000 to 3,800
| # | 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% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Newtown PA | 2,257 | $166K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Churchill PA | 3,014 | $107K | 1.9% | 1.6% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 549 | Cascade Township MN | 2,810 | $150K | 4.8% | 3.7% | 1% | A |
| 550 | Strawberry Plains TN | 2,669 | $75K | 3.0% | 1.8% | 2% | A |
| 551 | Manchester PA | 2,821 | $77K | 7.2% | 0.1% | 3% | A |
| 552 | Franklin Township NJ | 3,049 | $133K | 8.2% | 1.9% | 5% | A |
| 553 | Owasco NY | 3,468 | $102K | 4.3% | 1.8% | 9% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,703 | Cibecue AZ | 2,228 | $26K | 57.2% | 13.3% | 0% | 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 Manchester, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Manchester and the towns next door
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Manchester workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester | – | A | C | 35 min | $77,202 |
| Mount Wolf | under 3% | B+ | A | 25 min | $88,177 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Manchester’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 Manchester: questions
What is the median household income in Manchester?
$77,202 (±$14,025) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Manchester?
7.2%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Manchester?
35 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Manchester work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are York (8%, 7 mi), Manchester Township (7%, 4 mi), East Manchester Township (6%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Manchester walkable?
Manchester is more walkable than 34% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Manchester without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Manchester, from the people who make the trip.
More of Manchester
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.