Photo: Dough4872 · CC BY-SA 4.0Pottstown’s household incomes are lower than in 73% of U.S. towns
The poverty rate is 17.5% (Pennsylvania 11.7%). Jobs and income earn Pottstown C+; getting around on foot earns it A+. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 1.4 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 37.7 in Philadelphia.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Pottstown apart
No single place dominates Pottstown’s commute
The biggest draw, Philadelphia, gets only 7% of working residents, and 62% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Pottstown residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Pottstown draws workers from far and wide
The 8,397 jobs in Pottstown are filled from a wide area. Pottstown’s own residents hold 14% and the ten next-biggest home towns 23%; the other 63% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
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.
Pottstown’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pottstown is better than 38% of U.S. towns, #794 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Pottstown’s grade up (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pottstown could be anywhere from C− to B.
7% of working residents work in Philadelphia
Where Pottstown clocks in
7% 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.
Pottstown by day and by night
On a workday 9,774 residents head out to work, 1,186 work right here, and 7,211 people come in from elsewhere.
About 21,000 people are in Pottstown on a workday afternoon, 11% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.77 per resident).
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 kinds of work in Pottstown
8,397 jobs are based in Pottstown.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pottstown, 2013 → 2023: 8,162 → 8,397. 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 Pottstown’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From Pottstown, about 27 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pottstown workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,654 commuters (the 11% 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 in the region Pottstown works
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.
Pottstown is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pottstown is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns, #93 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Pottstown 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 10,802 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 71% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 28% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 63% 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). 11.6% of Pottstown households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Pottstown’s commuters take a bus or train.
Pottstown next to U.S. towns of 16,000 to 31,000: 1,314th of 1,712 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 5 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | West Whiteland Township PA | 20,826 | $133K | 3.0% | 1.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | South Fayette Township PA | 18,648 | $124K | 3.6% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,312 | Silver Springs Shores FL | 28,537 | $64K | 14.2% | 3.8% | 3% | C+ |
| 1,313 | Winder GA | 21,252 | $64K | 13.2% | 5.5% | 6% | C+ |
| 1,314 | Pottstown PA | 23,322 | $61K | 17.5% | 5.1% | 11% | C+ |
| 1,315 | Webster MA | 17,835 | $73K | 12.7% | 7.7% | 12% | C+ |
| 1,316 | Millville NJ | 28,098 | $70K | 12.5% | 6.1% | 20% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,712 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Pottstown, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Work in the towns next to Pottstown
The biggest share goes to Lower Pottsgrove Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pottstown workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pottstown | – | C+ | A+ | 27 min | $60,828 |
| West Pottsgrove Township | under 2% | B+ | B | 27 min | $81,065 |
| South Pottstown | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Lower Pottsgrove Township | 2% | B | B− | 28 min | $93,563 |
| North Coventry Township | under 2% | A | C− | 26 min | $98,896 |
| Stowe | under 2% | — | — | 27 min | — |
| Pottsgrove | under 2% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Kenilworth | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
| Upper Pottsgrove Township | under 2% | B+ | C+ | 36 min | $121,566 |
Same-state neighbors only. South Pottstown, Stowe, Pottsgrove and Kenilworth: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Pottstown’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 Pottstown: questions
What is the median household income in Pottstown?
$60,828 (±$6,734) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pottstown?
17.5%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pottstown?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pottstown work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Philadelphia (7%, 32 mi), Limerick Township (4%, 6 mi), Upper Merion Township (4%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pottstown walkable?
Pottstown is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 13.2 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pottstown without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. 28% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pottstown, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pottstown
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.