Photo: Nyttend · Public domainNew Brighton has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
Employers in New Brighton report 1,134 jobs; 2,510 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn New Brighton C+; getting around on foot earns it A. Household incomes here are lower than in 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in New Brighton: the gist
Many jobs in New Brighton pay little
34% of the jobs based in New Brighton pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside New Brighton
59% of New Brighton residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 38% of the jobs based in New Brighton pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
New Brighton’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside New Brighton is Pittsburgh, 27 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (235) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Fewer jobs are based in New Brighton than ten years ago
Jobs counted in New Brighton fell from 1,523 in 2014 to 1,134 in 2024, −26%. 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 ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The four measures behind New Brighton’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, New Brighton is better than 40% of U.S. towns, #775 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds New Brighton’s grade up (ahead of 74% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($52,939, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, New Brighton could be anywhere from C− to B.
What New Brighton’s employers do
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in New Brighton, 2014 → 2024: 1,523 → 1,134. 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 New Brighton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Short hops and long hauls from New Brighton
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.
A workday in New Brighton: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,404 residents head out to work, 106 work right here, and 1,028 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,100 people are in New Brighton 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 2024, primary jobs.
9% of working residents work in Pittsburgh
Where New Brighton clocks in
9% of workers
5% of workers
4% 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.
Each way, about 26 minutes from New Brighton
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of New Brighton workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,301 commuters (the 9% 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.
In New Brighton, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, New Brighton is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns, #128 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 5.7% 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 2,539 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 85% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 26% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 63% 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). 19.1% of New Brighton households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of New Brighton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, New Brighton is 2,193rd among 3,432 U.S. towns of 3,900 to 7,400
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | West Vincent Township PA | 6,885 | $203K | 1.4% | 0.8% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,191 | Dellwood MO | 4,825 | $73K | 21.7% | 6.5% | 1% | C+ |
| 2,192 | Randleman NC | 4,767 | $53K | 32.6% | 2.3% | 9% | C+ |
| 2,193 | New Brighton PA | 5,503 | $53K | 16.1% | 3.7% | 4% | C+ |
| 2,194 | Rocky Mount VA | 4,973 | $63K | 18.6% | 2.8% | 31% | C+ |
| 2,195 | Rancho Calaveras CA | 7,131 | $89K | 13.9% | 2.9% | 2% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,432 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 New Brighton, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
How New Brighton compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Beaver Falls (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | New Brighton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Brighton | – | C+ | A | 26 min | $52,939 |
| Pulaski Township | under 3% | B | B | 22 min | $55,245 |
| Beaver Falls | 2% | C− | A+ | 21 min | $49,924 |
| Daugherty Township | under 3% | B | D | 28 min | $87,969 |
| Fallston | under 3% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Patterson Heights | under 3% | — | — | 23 min | — |
| Patterson Township | under 3% | B | C+ | 26 min | $67,171 |
| Rochester Township | under 3% | B | D | 27 min | $60,500 |
Same-state neighbors only. Fallston and Patterson Heights: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of New Brighton’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 New Brighton: questions
What is the median household income in New Brighton?
$52,939 (±$5,191) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in New Brighton?
16.1%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from New Brighton?
26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in New Brighton work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (9%, 27 mi), Cranberry Township (5%, 11 mi), Moon Township (4%, 16 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is New Brighton walkable?
New Brighton is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 14.7 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around New Brighton without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 19% of households have no car. 26% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from New Brighton, from the people who make the trip.
More of New Brighton
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.