Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Most of Monaca commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
1,015 jobs are based in Monaca, and 2,399 of its residents work somewhere. Jobs and income earn Monaca B−; getting around on foot earns it B+. Only 5% work in Monaca itself; outside it, Pittsburgh draws the most (9%, 23 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Monaca, in brief
Monaca makes and builds things
51% of the jobs based in Monaca are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Monaca residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 15%. The jobs ↓
Monaca workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 26 across Pennsylvania. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Monaca’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Monaca is Pittsburgh, 23 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (217) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Monaca
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Monaca is better than 53% of U.S. towns, #662 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Monaca’s grade up (ahead of 76% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.1%, U.S. 5.2%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Monaca could be anywhere from C to A−.
Factories, building and farms: 51% of the jobs in Monaca
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Monaca, 2013 → 2023: 1,179 → 1,015. 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 Monaca’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Monaca, about 32 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Monaca workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,346 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.
How far it is to work from Monaca
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.
Monaca quiets down on a workday
On a workday 2,281 residents head out to work, 118 work right here, and 897 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,100 people are in Monaca on a workday afternoon, 25% 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 2023, primary jobs.
The towns that employ Monaca’s residents
Where Monaca clocks in
9% of workers
7% 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.
Getting around Monaca: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Monaca is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns, #421 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.9% 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 2,766 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 32% 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 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 43% 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). 9.9% of Monaca households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Monaca’s commuters take a bus or train.
Monaca next to U.S. towns of 3,800 to 7,400: 1,861st of 3,612 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | West Vincent Township PA | 6,885 | $203K | 1.4% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,859 | Hummelstown PA | 4,492 | $63K | 11.8% | 4.1% | 6% | B− |
| 1,860 | Coraopolis PA | 5,280 | $64K | 11.5% | 4.5% | 6% | B− |
| 1,861 | Monaca PA | 5,456 | $74K | 10.5% | 5.1% | 5% | B− |
| 1,862 | Stone Park IL | 4,477 | $67K | 11.7% | 5.7% | 5% | B− |
| 1,863 | Canton NC | 4,418 | $70K | 15.0% | 1.8% | 12% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,612 | 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 Monaca, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Work in the towns next to Monaca
The biggest share goes to Center Township (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Monaca workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monaca | – | B− | B+ | 32 min | $73,538 |
| Center Township | 7% | A− | B+ | 24 min | $89,346 |
| Freedom | under 3% | B− | B | 31 min | $74,327 |
| East Rochester | under 3% | — | — | 26 min | — |
| Rochester | under 3% | C− | A+ | 18 min | $43,080 |
| Bridgewater | under 3% | — | — | 19 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. East Rochester and Bridgewater: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Monaca’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 Monaca: questions
What is the median household income in Monaca?
$73,538 (±$8,672) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Monaca?
10.5%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Monaca?
32 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Monaca work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (9%, 23 mi), Center Township (7%, 3 mi), Moon Township (5%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Monaca walkable?
Monaca is more walkable than 68% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 9.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Monaca without a car?
1% 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 Monaca, from the people who make the trip.
More of Monaca
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.