Photo: Jet Lowe · Public domainHouseholds in Mount Union have lower incomes than those in 96% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 26.7% of residents, where Pennsylvania as a whole has 11.7%. Mount Union grades D− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. 4% of workers work from home, next to 16% for Pennsylvania as a whole.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Mount Union stands out on work
Fewer jobs are based in Mount Union than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Mount Union fell from 1,272 in 2013 to 630 in 2023, −50%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Few Mount Union 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 ↓
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; with 937 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Mount Union
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Mount Union is better than 2% of U.S. towns. All four inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Mount Union’s grade.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Mount Union could be anywhere from D− to D.
What Mount Union’s employers do
630 jobs are based in Mount Union.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Mount Union, 2013 → 2023: 1,272 → 630. 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 Mount Union’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Mount Union’s commute takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Mount Union workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 829 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.
Who works in Mount Union, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 813 residents head out to work, 124 work right here, and 506 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in Mount Union on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.67 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.
9% of working residents work in Shirley Township
Where Mount Union clocks in
9% of workers
7% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Mount Union
About 26% 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 Mount Union, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Mount Union is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.0% 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 863 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). 17.1% of Mount Union households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Mount Union’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 1,600 to 3,000, and where Mount Union sits
| # | 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% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 24 | Newtown PA | 2,257 | $166K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 25 | Edgeworth PA | 1,611 | $203K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | South Coventry Township PA | 2,822 | $158K | 0.9% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,936 | Richland MO | 1,737 | $34K | 25.9% | 3.8% | 8% | D− |
| 4,937 | Commerce OK | 2,260 | $35K | 35.1% | 3.0% | 11% | D− |
| 4,938 | Mount Union PA | 2,231 | $41K | 26.7% | 9.7% | 13% | D− |
| 4,939 | Soap Lake WA | 1,817 | $48K | 27.4% | 8.9% | 3% | D− |
| 4,940 | Crandon WI | 1,726 | $43K | 20.9% | 1.8% | 16% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,102 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Mount Union, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Around Mount Union: the bordering towns
The biggest share goes to Shirley Township (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Mount Union workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Union | – | D− | A− | 30 min | $40,625 |
| Shirley Township | 9% | C− | C− | 41 min | $49,750 |
| Allenport | under 2% | — | — | 45 min | — |
| Wayne Township | under 2% | B− | C− | 33 min | $69,250 |
| Brady Township | under 2% | C+ | B− | 25 min | $73,393 |
Same-state neighbors only. Allenport: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Mount Union’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 Mount Union: questions
What is the median household income in Mount Union?
$40,625 (±$11,173) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Mount Union?
26.7%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Mount Union?
30 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Mount Union work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Shirley Township (9%, 4 mi), Huntingdon (7%, 10 mi), Smithfield Township (6%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Mount Union walkable?
Mount Union is more walkable than 79% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Mount Union without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 17% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Mount Union, from the people who make the trip.
More of Mount Union
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.