Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Northampton has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
Employers in Northampton report 2,375 jobs for 5,294 working residents. Northampton grades B+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 2.3 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 8.3 in Allentown.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Northampton in brief
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Northampton
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Northampton is better than 70% of U.S. towns, #460 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Northampton’s grade up (ahead of 79% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.2%, U.S. 5.2%). 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, Northampton could be anywhere from B− to A.
Time on the road from Northampton: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Northampton workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,595 commuters (the 13% 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 leaves Northampton for work, and who comes in
On a workday 5,018 residents head out to work, 276 work right here, and 2,099 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,700 people are in Northampton on a workday afternoon, 28% 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.
11% of working residents work in Allentown
Where Northampton clocks in
11% 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.
The kinds of work in Northampton
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Northampton, 2013 → 2023: 2,721 → 2,375. 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 Northampton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many miles Northampton commutes
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.
Northampton is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Northampton is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #70 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Northampton near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 5,282 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 27% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 71% 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). 9.7% of Northampton households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Northampton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Northampton places 1,132nd of 2,878 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 7,000 to 14,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 45 | Bethel Township PA | 9,774 | $177K | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Upper Nazareth Township PA | 8,521 | $122K | 1.2% | 0.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Upper Uwchlan Township PA | 13,681 | $191K | 1.6% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,130 | Pleasant Hill MO | 8,956 | $96K | 6.0% | 5.2% | 12% | B+ |
| 1,131 | Union Township OH | 9,403 | $95K | 9.5% | 3.9% | 10% | B+ |
| 1,132 | Northampton PA | 10,570 | $91K | 6.7% | 5.2% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,133 | Warrenton VA | 10,213 | $83K | 9.7% | 2.0% | 18% | B+ |
| 1,134 | Atlas Township MI | 8,271 | $107K | 4.1% | 6.8% | 6% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,878 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 Northampton, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
The towns around Northampton
The biggest share goes to Whitehall Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Northampton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton | – | B+ | A+ | 28 min | $90,762 |
| Allen Township | under 3% | A+ | C− | 27 min | $102,865 |
| Whitehall Township | 4% | B− | A− | 26 min | $75,658 |
| North Catasauqua | under 3% | A | B | 22 min | $77,396 |
| Cementon | under 3% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Coplay | under 3% | B+ | B+ | 25 min | $61,906 |
Same-state neighbors only. Cementon: 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 Northampton’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 Northampton: questions
What is the median household income in Northampton?
$90,762 (±$13,403) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Northampton?
6.7%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Northampton?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Northampton work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Allentown (11%, 7 mi), Bethlehem (7%, 8 mi), Upper Macungie Township (6%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Northampton walkable?
Northampton is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.5 out of 20, and 8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Northampton without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 27% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Northampton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Northampton
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.