Photo: Nicholas A. Tonelli · CC BY 2.0Most of Pen Argyl commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
The two grades for Pen Argyl are B for jobs and income and A− for walkability. There are 704 jobs in Pen Argyl; 1,706 of its residents have a job. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 8.3 in Allentown.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Pen Argyl
The four measures behind Pen Argyl’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pen Argyl is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #560 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Unemployment holds Pen Argyl’s grade up (1.7%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (15.7%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pen Argyl could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
About 30 minutes each way, longer than most of Pennsylvania
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pen Argyl workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,731 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.
Pen Argyl quiets down on a workday
On a workday 1,620 residents head out to work, 86 work right here, and 618 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,500 people are in Pen Argyl on a workday afternoon, 29% 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.
5% of working residents work in Bethlehem
Where Pen Argyl clocks in
5% 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.
In Pen Argyl, 28% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pen Argyl, 2014 → 2024: 662 → 704. 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 Pen Argyl’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Miles to work from Pen Argyl
About 15% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Pen Argyl is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pen Argyl is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns, #283 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.6% 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 1,799 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, 36% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 53% 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). 3.6% of Pen Argyl households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Pen Argyl’s commuters take a bus or train.
Pen Argyl next to U.S. towns of 2,400 to 4,700: 1,672nd of 4,535 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| 69 | West Pikeland Township PA | 4,045 | $226K | 0.9% | 2.8% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,670 | Caledonia MN | 2,768 | $76K | 8.9% | 1.5% | 34% | B |
| 1,671 | Spring Grove PA | 2,520 | $77K | 9.6% | 4.0% | 7% | B |
| 1,672 | Pen Argyl PA | 3,468 | $76K | 15.7% | 1.7% | 5% | B |
| 1,673 | Emmett Township MI | 2,515 | $97K | 3.1% | 4.6% | 2% | B |
| 1,674 | Sherman Township MI | 3,462 | $83K | 5.4% | 3.4% | 3% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,535 | 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 Pen Argyl, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
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 Pen Argyl: questions
What is the median household income in Pen Argyl?
$76,096 (±$12,356) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pen Argyl?
15.7%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pen Argyl?
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 Pen Argyl work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Bethlehem (5%, 18 mi), Forks Township (5%, 9 mi), Plainfield Township (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Pen Argyl walkable?
Pen Argyl is more walkable than 83% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 15.1 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pen Argyl without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 36% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pen Argyl, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pen Argyl
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.