Unemployment in Sinking Spring (1.2%) is lower than in 93% of U.S. towns
Only 5% work in Sinking Spring; the top destination outside it is Reading (10%, 5 miles). For jobs and income Sinking Spring is better than 85% of U.S. towns (A); for walkability it is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (B−). The trip to work takes 23 minutes on average, where Pennsylvania has 26 and the U.S. 26.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Where Sinking Spring stands out on work
Sinking Spring trades workers with the towns around it
Sinking Spring has about as many jobs (1,935) as working residents (2,081), but they are mostly different people: 1,983 residents leave for work each day while 1,837 people come in. Only 5% of the jobs in Sinking Spring are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Sinking Spring makes and builds things
56% of the jobs based in Sinking Spring are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Sinking Spring residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 21%. 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.
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for Sinking Spring
Unemployment is its strongest input; household income ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns ($82,500, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Sinking Spring could be anywhere from B to A+.
Who leaves, who stays, who comes in
On a workday 1,983 residents head out to work, 98 work right here, and 1,837 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.93 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.
Goods jobs make up 56% of work in Sinking Spring
1,935 jobs are based in Sinking Spring.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Sinking Spring, 2013 → 2023: 2,191 → 1,935. 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 Sinking Spring’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting out of Sinking Spring: the destinations
Where Sinking Spring clocks in
10% of workers
7% 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.
A commute of about 23 minutes in Sinking Spring
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Sinking Spring workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,166 commuters (the 12% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Sinking Spring
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.
Most of Sinking Spring commutes by car
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.6% across Pennsylvania.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,449 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). 5.9% of Sinking Spring households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Sinking Spring’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 3,938 U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,200, Sinking Spring comes 582nd on jobs and income
| # | 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 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 580 | Esperance WA | 4,189 | $149K | 10.5% | 3.2% | <1% | A |
| 581 | Goshen NY | 5,744 | $105K | 2.2% | 4.1% | 10% | A |
| 582 | Sinking Spring PA | 4,584 | $83K | 7.8% | 1.2% | 5% | A |
| 583 | Washington Township IN | 5,883 | $110K | 9.1% | 1.9% | 9% | A |
| 584 | Tuxedo NY | 3,735 | $130K | 7.7% | 2.6% | 8% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 3,938 | 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 Sinking Spring, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
How Sinking Spring compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Spring Township (9%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Sinking Spring workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sinking Spring | – | A | B− | 23 min | $82,500 |
| Spring Township | 9% | A | A− | 24 min | $94,837 |
| Whitfield | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Lower Heidelberg Township | under 2% | A+ | B | 31 min | $123,476 |
| Springmont | under 2% | — | — | 20 min | — |
| South Heidelberg Township | under 2% | A | C | 25 min | $110,615 |
| West Wyomissing | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Whitfield, Springmont and West Wyomissing: 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 Sinking Spring’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 Sinking Spring: questions
What is the median household income in Sinking Spring?
$82,500 (±$21,321) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Sinking Spring?
7.8%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Sinking Spring?
23 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Sinking Spring work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Reading (10%, 5 mi), Spring Township (9%, 1 mi), Wyomissing (7%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Sinking Spring walkable?
Sinking Spring is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Sinking Spring without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Sinking Spring, from the people who make the trip.
More of Sinking Spring
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.