Unemployment in Penbrook (8.8%) is higher than in 91% of U.S. towns
For jobs and income Penbrook is better than 47% of U.S. towns (B−); for walkability it is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (A). Hardly any stay in Penbrook for work; outside it, Harrisburg is the main destination (21%, 2 miles). Measured by household income, Penbrook is behind 70% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Penbrook
Fewer jobs are based in Penbrook than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Penbrook fell from 589 in 2013 to 310 in 2023, −47%. 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 ↓
Penbrook is a place people come home to
There are 310 jobs based in Penbrook, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Penbrook has about 2,100 people in it, 37% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
Most Penbrook residents work close to home
65% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Commutes from Penbrook are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. 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.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Penbrook
Job access by car holds Penbrook’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Penbrook could be anywhere from C to A.
Jobs in Penbrook: what the 310 are
310 jobs are based in Penbrook.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Penbrook, 2013 → 2023: 589 → 310. 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 Penbrook’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily flow of workers through Penbrook
On a workday 1,484 residents head out to work, 13 work right here, and 297 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,100 people are in Penbrook on a workday afternoon, 37% fewer than live here.
0.21 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.
The commute from Penbrook, by distance
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.
How long Penbrook spends getting to work: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Penbrook workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,517 commuters (the 15% 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.
Where people from Penbrook work
Where Penbrook clocks in
21% of workers
8% 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.
Penbrook is easy on foot, hard by bus
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 5.2% 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 1,779 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, 100% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 1.5% of Penbrook households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Penbrook’s commuters take a bus or train.
Penbrook next to U.S. towns of 2,300 to 4,400: 2,334th of 4,453 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% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 62 | West Pikeland Township PA | 4,045 | $226K | 0.9% | 2.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 66 | Trappe PA | 4,061 | $127K | 4.5% | 1.0% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,332 | Cuba NY | 3,065 | $76K | 12.2% | 2.4% | 22% | B− |
| 2,333 | Oxford MI | 3,451 | $84K | 9.9% | 10.9% | 7% | B− |
| 2,334 | Penbrook PA | 3,243 | $62K | 7.4% | 8.8% | 1% | B− |
| 2,335 | Whitesboro TX | 4,188 | $70K | 16.5% | 2.2% | 13% | B− |
| 2,336 | Westport WA | 2,372 | $65K | 7.3% | 1.7% | 33% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,453 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Penbrook, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Next door to Penbrook
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Penbrook workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penbrook | – | B− | A | 20 min | $62,312 |
| Progress | under 2% | — | — | 22 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Progress: 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 Penbrook’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 Penbrook: questions
What is the median household income in Penbrook?
$62,312 (±$21,946) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Penbrook?
7.4%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Penbrook?
20 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Penbrook work?
1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Harrisburg (21%, 2 mi), Susquehanna Township (8%, 3 mi), Lower Paxton Township (6%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Penbrook walkable?
Penbrook is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 17.1 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Penbrook without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 100% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Penbrook, from the people who make the trip.
More of Penbrook
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.