Photo: User:Dincher · CC BY-SA 3.0At 2.0%, unemployment in Penn Township is lower than in 85% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Penn Township are B− for jobs and income and C for walkability. 6% of workers work from home (Pennsylvania 16%). About one in ten work in Penn Township; the top destination outside it is Selinsgrove (8%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Jobs and commuting in Penn Township: the gist
Commutes from Penn Township are quick
The average trip to work takes 17 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Penn Township than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Penn Township fell from 3,291 in 2014 to 2,422 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 ↓
Most jobs in Penn Township pay over $40,000 a year
72% of the jobs based in Penn Township pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. 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.
What’s behind Penn Township’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Penn Township is better than 50% of U.S. towns, #697 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Unemployment holds Penn Township’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($61,479, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Penn Township could be anywhere from C− to A−.
Commuting from Penn Township: about 17 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Penn Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,586 commuters (the 6% 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.
Penn Township works in goods: 33% of its jobs
2,422 jobs are based in Penn Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Penn Township, 2014 → 2024: 3,291 → 2,422. 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 Penn Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
In and out of Penn Township on a workday
On a workday 1,559 residents head out to work, 182 work right here, and 2,240 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,800 people are in Penn Township on a workday afternoon, 17% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.39 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Out of Penn Township to work: where people go
Where Penn Township clocks in
8% of workers
5% of workers
5% 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.
How far Penn Township goes to work
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.
Getting around Penn Township: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Penn Township is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns, #834 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Penn Township 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 1,679 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). 8.8% of Penn Township households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Penn Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,500, Penn Township ranks 2,110th of 4,023 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,108 | Leesburg GA | 3,597 | $79K | 17.3% | 2.1% | 7% | B− |
| 2,109 | Long View NC | 5,387 | $47K | 11.3% | 2.5% | 4% | B− |
| 2,110 | Penn Township PA | 4,098 | $61K | 12.0% | 2.0% | 10% | B− |
| 2,111 | Barling AR | 5,452 | $54K | 15.1% | 1.8% | 2% | B− |
| 2,112 | Algona IA | 5,309 | $56K | 6.9% | 2.0% | 52% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,023 | 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 Penn Township, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
The towns next door employ 13% of Penn Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Penn Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Township | – | B− | C | 17 min | $61,479 |
| Jackson Township | under 3% | C+ | C | 22 min | $72,171 |
| Washington Township | under 3% | C+ | B− | 25 min | $74,519 |
| Kratzerville | under 3% | — | — | 28 min | — |
| Selinsgrove | 8% | B+ | A+ | 14 min | $65,650 |
| Union Township | under 3% | C | B | 28 min | $76,339 |
| Monroe Township | 5% | A− | B− | 27 min | $90,417 |
| Lower Augusta Township | under 3% | B− | C− | 28 min | $74,688 |
| Middlecreek Township | under 3% | B− | C+ | 28 min | $62,344 |
Same-state neighbors only. Kratzerville: 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 Selinsgrove. Darker towns draw more of Penn 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 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 Penn Township: questions
What is the median household income in Penn Township?
$61,479 (±$20,511) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Penn Township?
12.0%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Penn Township?
17 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Penn Township work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Selinsgrove (8%, 2 mi), Mahoning Township (5%, 19 mi), Monroe Township (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Penn Township walkable?
Penn Township is more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 5.8 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Penn Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Penn Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Penn Township
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.