Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0At 5.8%, unemployment in Muhlenberg Township is higher than in 72% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 8% of workers (Pennsylvania 16%). The two grades for Muhlenberg Township are B+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. About one in ten work in Muhlenberg Township itself; outside it, Reading draws the most (13%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Muhlenberg Township at work: what stands out
Muhlenberg Township’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Muhlenberg Township is better than 65% of U.S. towns, #513 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Muhlenberg Township’s grade up (ahead of 82% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Muhlenberg Township could be anywhere from B− to A−.
Where Muhlenberg Township goes to work
Where Muhlenberg Township clocks in
13% of workers
6% 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.
In and out of Muhlenberg Township on a workday
On a workday 8,989 residents head out to work, 1,178 work right here, and 12,979 people come in from elsewhere.
About 26,000 people are in Muhlenberg Township on a workday afternoon, 18% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.39 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Jobs in Muhlenberg Township: what the 14,157 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Muhlenberg Township, 2013 → 2023: 14,862 → 14,157. 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 Muhlenberg Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
About 23 minutes each way for Muhlenberg Township’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Muhlenberg Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 10,297 commuters (the 8% 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 distance from Muhlenberg Township to work
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.
Driving is how Muhlenberg Township gets around
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Muhlenberg Township is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns, #507 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.0% 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 11,197 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). 4.2% of Muhlenberg Township households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Muhlenberg Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Muhlenberg Township ranks: 857th of 1,658 U.S. towns of 16,000 to 30,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | West Whiteland Township PA | 20,826 | $133K | 3.0% | 1.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | South Fayette Township PA | 18,648 | $124K | 3.6% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 855 | Huron Township MI | 16,556 | $93K | 11.7% | 4.8% | 5% | B+ |
| 856 | Midway FL | 21,317 | $96K | 6.9% | 3.4% | 8% | B+ |
| 857 | Muhlenberg Township PA | 22,504 | $88K | 7.6% | 5.8% | 12% | B+ |
| 858 | Oak Grove OR | 16,796 | $86K | 8.4% | 5.3% | 4% | B+ |
| 859 | Carteret NJ | 25,781 | $97K | 8.2% | 10.1% | 9% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,658 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Muhlenberg Township, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
15% of Muhlenberg Township works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Muhlenberg Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muhlenberg Township | – | B+ | B | 23 min | $88,069 |
| Bern Township | 2% | A+ | C+ | 24 min | $117,897 |
| Reading | 13% | C− | A | 24 min | $44,091 |
| Alsace Township | under 3% | A− | C+ | 21 min | $71,103 |
| Greenfields | under 3% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Ontelaunee Township | under 3% | A− | C− | 27 min | $111,154 |
| Ruscombmanor Township | under 3% | B+ | D− | 34 min | $103,125 |
Same-state neighbors only. Greenfields: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Reading. Darker towns draw more of Muhlenberg 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 Muhlenberg Township: questions
What is the median household income in Muhlenberg Township?
$88,069 (±$6,561) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Muhlenberg Township?
7.6%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Muhlenberg Township?
23 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Muhlenberg Township work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Reading (13%, 4 mi), Maxatawny Township (6%, 13 mi), Wyomissing (5%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Muhlenberg Township walkable?
Muhlenberg Township is more walkable than 60% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.1 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Muhlenberg Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Muhlenberg Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Muhlenberg 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.