At 9.0%, unemployment in Penn Forest Township is higher than in 92% of U.S. towns
Only 6% work in Penn Forest Township; the top destination outside it is Kidder Township (4%, 7 miles). Penn Forest Township grades C for jobs and income and C for walkability. The average commute takes 42 minutes each way, next to 26 for Pennsylvania and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Penn Forest Township: the figures worth knowing
Penn Forest Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 42 minutes each way, against 26 across Pennsylvania. Over a year that’s about 322 hours of commuting, 123 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
No single place dominates Penn Forest Township’s commute
The biggest draw, Kidder Township, gets only 4% of working residents, and 69% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Penn Forest Township residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Many jobs in Penn Forest Township pay little
29% of the jobs based in Penn Forest Township pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Penn Forest Township
59% of Penn Forest Township residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 40% of the jobs based in Penn Forest Township pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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.
Why Penn Forest Township gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Penn Forest Township is better than 27% of U.S. towns, #895 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The poverty rate holds Penn Forest Township’s grade up (10.6%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Penn Forest Township could be anywhere from C− to B−.
Getting to work from Penn Forest Township takes about 42 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 13.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Penn Forest Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,324 commuters (the 20% 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 Penn Forest Township goes to work
Where Penn Forest Township clocks in
4% of workers
3% 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.
Jobs in Penn Forest Township: what the 627 are
627 jobs are based in Penn Forest Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Penn Forest Township, 2013 → 2023: 830 → 627. 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 Penn Forest Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Penn Forest Township
On a workday 3,387 residents head out to work, 223 work right here, and 404 people come in from elsewhere.
About 7,500 people are in Penn Forest Township on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
0.17 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.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Penn Forest Township
About 26% 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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Penn Forest Township, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Penn Forest Township is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns, #791 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 8.6% across Pennsylvania, on an EPA index of 5.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,179 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). 2.1% of Penn Forest Township households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Penn Forest Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Penn Forest Township is 2,294th among 2,878 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,292 | Fairmont MN | 10,099 | $53K | 15.3% | 3.1% | 53% | C |
| 2,293 | Prairie View TX | 8,969 | $21K | 38.1% | 21.9% | 6% | C |
| 2,294 | Penn Forest Township PA | 10,434 | $67K | 10.6% | 9.0% | 6% | C |
| 2,295 | Hobe Sound FL | 13,817 | $63K | 15.7% | 6.4% | 9% | C |
| 2,296 | North Bend OR | 9,966 | $81K | 14.0% | 6.5% | 23% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 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 Penn Forest Township, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Penn Forest Township and the towns next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Penn Forest Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Forest Township | – | C | C | 42 min | $67,045 |
| Kidder Township | 4% | B− | D | 34 min | $78,854 |
| Lehigh Township | under 2% | — | — | 29 min | — |
| Jim Thorpe | 3% | B | A− | 31 min | $72,904 |
| Polk Township | under 2% | C+ | C | 40 min | $80,625 |
| Franklin Township | under 2% | B− | C+ | 32 min | $88,924 |
| Tunkhannock Township | under 2% | C+ | C | 36 min | $69,700 |
| Towamensing Township | under 2% | B− | D | 27 min | $69,245 |
| Indian Mountain Lake | under 2% | — | — | 42 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Lehigh Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Indian Mountain Lake: 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 Kidder Township. Darker towns draw more of Penn Forest 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 Penn Forest Township: questions
What is the median household income in Penn Forest Township?
$67,045 (±$8,615) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Penn Forest Township?
10.6%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Penn Forest Township?
42 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Penn Forest Township work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kidder Township (4%, 7 mi), Allentown (3%, 26 mi), Jim Thorpe (3%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Penn Forest Township walkable?
Penn Forest Township is more walkable than 32% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.2 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Penn Forest Township without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Penn Forest Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Penn Forest 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.