Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Making a living in Polk
A typical one-way commute lasts 21 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. Home is the office for 3% of workers; Pennsylvania has 16%. Hardly any work in Polk; the top destination outside it is Franklin (14%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Polk apart on work
Fewer jobs are based in Polk than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Polk fell from 1,037 in 2013 to 140 in 2023, −86%. 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 ↓
Few Polk workers work from home
Only 3% of workers work from home, against 16% across Pennsylvania. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Commutes from Polk are quick
The average trip to work takes 21 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 38 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; with 237 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Mostly services: health care, schools and offices
140 jobs are based in Polk.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Polk, 2013 → 2023: 1,037 → 140. 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 Polk’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 21 minutes in Polk
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Polk workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 190 commuters (the 3% 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.
In and out of Polk on a workday
On a workday 236 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 139 people come in from elsewhere.
About 520 people are in Polk on a workday afternoon, 16% fewer than live here.
0.59 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.
Where Polk goes to work
Where Polk clocks in
14% of workers
8% 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 commute from Polk, by distance
About 29% 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.
Polk and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Sandycreek Township (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Polk workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polk | – | — | — | 21 min | $36,786 |
| Frenchcreek Township | under 2% | C+ | D− | 28 min | $69,044 |
| Victory Township | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Sandycreek Township | 6% | C+ | B− | 19 min | $87,794 |
Same-state neighbors only. Victory Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Polk’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 Polk: questions
What is the median household income in Polk?
$36,786 (±$33,818) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Polk?
35.4%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Polk?
21 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 3% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Polk work?
<1% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Franklin (14%, 5 mi), Sugarcreek (8%, 7 mi), Sandycreek Township (6%, 5 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Can you get around Polk without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 21% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Polk, from the people who make the trip.
More of Polk
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.