Photo: Dough4872 · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Shenandoah have lower incomes than those in 93% of U.S. towns
Poverty touches 27.7% of residents (Pennsylvania 11.7%). The two grades for Shenandoah are D for jobs and income and A− for walkability. 2% of workers have no commute at all (Pennsylvania 16%).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Shenandoah stands out on work
Few Shenandoah workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 16% across Pennsylvania. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Shenandoah than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Shenandoah fell from 1,422 in 2013 to 995 in 2023, −30%. 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 ↓
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 Shenandoah
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Shenandoah is better than 6% of U.S. towns, #1,025 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Shenandoah’s grade up (ahead of 40% 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, Shenandoah could be anywhere from D− to C−.
How long Shenandoah spends getting to work: about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Shenandoah workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,495 commuters (the 2% 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.
Making and building: 28% of jobs based in Shenandoah
995 jobs are based in Shenandoah.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Shenandoah, 2013 → 2023: 1,422 → 995. 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 Shenandoah’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Shenandoah
On a workday 1,650 residents head out to work, 142 work right here, and 853 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,300 people are in Shenandoah on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.56 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.
8% of working residents work in Hazle Township
Where Shenandoah clocks in
3% 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.
Half of Shenandoah commutes less than 15 miles
About 20% 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 Shenandoah, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Shenandoah is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns, #298 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Shenandoah 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 1,526 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). 12.4% of Shenandoah households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Shenandoah’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Shenandoah sits among U.S. towns of 2,900 to 5,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | 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% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 28 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,879 | Brookdale SC | 4,291 | $39K | 34.8% | 21.5% | 3% | D |
| 3,880 | West Liberty KY | 3,339 | $48K | 17.4% | 6.3% | 27% | D |
| 3,881 | Shenandoah PA | 4,122 | $45K | 27.7% | 9.4% | 8% | D |
| 3,882 | Hazard KY | 4,794 | $51K | 31.5% | 7.1% | 45% | D |
| 3,883 | Jackson LA | 3,904 | $38K | 32.0% | 13.1% | 3% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,112 | 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 Shenandoah, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Shenandoah and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to West Mahanoy Township (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Shenandoah workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shenandoah | – | D | A− | 30 min | $45,294 |
| West Mahanoy Township | 3% | C− | C− | 22 min | $85,471 |
| Mahanoy Township | under 3% | C− | C− | 29 min | $59,474 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Shenandoah’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 Shenandoah: questions
What is the median household income in Shenandoah?
$45,294 (±$6,228) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Shenandoah?
27.7%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Shenandoah?
30 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Shenandoah work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Hazle Township (8%, 14 mi), West Mahanoy Township (3%, 2 mi), Foster Township (3%, 12 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Shenandoah walkable?
Shenandoah is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 8.8 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Shenandoah without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 12% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Shenandoah, from the people who make the trip.
More of Shenandoah
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.