Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 3.0At 8.5%, unemployment in Summit Hill is higher than in 90% of U.S. towns
The two grades for Summit Hill are D for jobs and income and C+ for walkability. For 8% of workers, the job is at home (Pennsylvania 16%). Only 5% stay in Summit Hill for work; outside it, Rush Township is the main destination (4%, 7 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Summit Hill: the figures worth knowing
Summit Hill workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 38 minutes each way, against 26 across Pennsylvania. Over a year that’s about 291 hours of commuting, 92 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Summit Hill is a place people come home to
There are 231 jobs based in Summit Hill, about two for every ten working residents, so almost everyone works somewhere else. On a workday Summit Hill has about 1,900 people in it, 39% fewer than live here. Day and night ↓
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.
Inside Summit Hill’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Summit Hill is better than 13% of U.S. towns, #1,003 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Summit Hill’s grade up (ahead of 37% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (24.0%, U.S. 12.5%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Summit Hill could be anywhere from D− to B−.
How long Summit Hill spends getting to work: about 38 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 12.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Summit Hill workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,211 commuters (the 8% 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.
Who leaves Summit Hill for work, and who comes in
On a workday 1,371 residents head out to work, 76 work right here, and 155 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,900 people are in Summit Hill on a workday afternoon, 39% fewer than live here.
0.16 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 Summit Hill goes to work
Where Summit Hill clocks in
4% 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.
Health, schools and offices: most of the jobs in Summit Hill
231 jobs are based in Summit Hill.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Summit Hill, 2013 → 2023: 122 → 231. 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 Summit Hill’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Summit Hill, by distance
About 18% 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.
Getting around Summit Hill: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Summit Hill is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns, #740 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.9% 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 1,312 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). 2.7% of Summit Hill households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Summit Hill’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Summit Hill is 3,942nd of 4,562 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Newtown PA | 2,257 | $166K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 59 | West Pikeland Township PA | 4,045 | $226K | 0.9% | 2.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,940 | Billings Township MI | 2,377 | $54K | 10.0% | 7.1% | 2% | D |
| 3,941 | Rushville IL | 2,857 | $58K | 12.6% | 7.1% | 23% | D |
| 3,942 | Summit Hill PA | 3,133 | $65K | 24.0% | 8.5% | 5% | D |
| 3,943 | Pageland SC | 2,518 | $43K | 20.0% | 6.2% | 12% | D |
| 3,944 | Dyer TN | 2,333 | $55K | 16.7% | 2.5% | 9% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 4,562 | 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 Summit Hill, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
10% of Summit Hill works in a bordering town
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Summit Hill workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Hill | – | D | C+ | 38 min | $65,268 |
| Lansford | under 3% | D− | B− | 44 min | $44,713 |
| Nesquehoning | 3% | C− | B | 30 min | $61,354 |
| Mahoning Township | under 3% | B+ | C | 31 min | $71,881 |
| Jim Thorpe | 4% | B | A− | 31 min | $72,904 |
| Tamaqua | 3% | D | A | 25 min | $46,176 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Jim Thorpe. Darker towns draw more of Summit Hill’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 Summit Hill: questions
What is the median household income in Summit Hill?
$65,268 (±$24,803) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Summit Hill?
24.0%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Summit Hill?
38 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Summit Hill work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rush Township (4%, 7 mi), Lehighton (4%, 7 mi), Upper Macungie Township (4%, 21 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Summit Hill walkable?
Summit Hill is more walkable than 36% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 7.1 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Summit Hill without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Summit Hill, from the people who make the trip.
More of Summit Hill
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.