Photo: Nyttend · Public domainHousehold incomes in Summit Township are lower than in 82% of U.S. towns
About one in ten work in Summit Township; the top destination outside it is Somerset (12%, 12 miles). Below the poverty line: 17.8% of residents, next to 11.7% across Pennsylvania. For jobs and income Summit Township is better than 6% of U.S. towns (D); for walkability it is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (C).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Summit Township apart on work
Summit Township makes and builds things
45% of the jobs based in Summit Township are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Summit Township residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 26%. The jobs ↓
Summit Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 31 minutes each way, against 26 across Pennsylvania. Over a year that’s about 238 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 846 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
Income, poverty and work: Summit Township’s grade explained
All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Summit Township’s grade.
Unemployment (1.9%) is left out: Summit Township’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Summit Township could be anywhere from D− to C−.
45% of the jobs in Summit Township make or build things
541 jobs are based in Summit Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Summit Township, 2014 → 2024: 511 → 541. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Summit Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Commuting from Summit Township: about 31 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Summit Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 767 commuters (the 14% 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.
Summit Township quiets down on a workday
On a workday 747 residents head out to work, 99 work right here, and 442 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,800 people are in Summit Township on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.64 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where Summit Township goes to work
Where Summit Township clocks in
12% 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.
Miles to work from Summit Township
About 26% 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 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Summit Township, the car does most of the work
How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 2.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 8.6% across Pennsylvania, on an EPA index of 4.8.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 889 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). 14.4% of Summit Township households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Summit Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
U.S. towns of 1,500 to 2,800, and where Summit Township sits
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 1% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Newtown PA | 2,257 | $166K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 7% | A+ |
| 26 | Edgeworth PA | 1,611 | $203K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 87 | Lowhill Township PA | 2,331 | $144K | 2.7% | 1.5% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,655 | De Leon TX | 2,370 | $47K | 16.0% | 7.6% | 20% | D |
| 4,656 | Sprigg Township OH | 1,767 | $58K | 18.0% | 13.5% | <1% | D |
| 4,657 | Summit Township PA | 2,099 | $55K | 17.8% | 1.9% | 12% | D |
| 4,658 | Susitna North AK | 1,566 | $55K | 15.7% | 11.3% | — | D |
| 4,659 | Centreville AL | 2,709 | $39K | 18.8% | 8.9% | 12% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 5,148 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 61% | 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 Township, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
How Summit Township compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Elk Lick Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Summit Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Township | – | D | C | 31 min | $54,688 |
| Black Township | under 2% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| Elk Lick Township | 2% | C | B− | 19 min | $70,750 |
| Larimer Township | under 2% | — | — | 42 min | — |
| Brothersvalley Township | under 2% | B | C− | 24 min | $70,417 |
| Greenville Township | under 2% | — | — | 31 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Black Township, Larimer Township and Greenville Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Summit Township’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 2024, 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 Township: questions
What is the median household income in Summit Township?
$54,688 (±$13,691) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Summit Township?
17.8%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Summit Township?
31 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Summit Township work?
12% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Somerset (12%, 12 mi), Somerset Township (7%, 13 mi), Meyersdale (6%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is Summit Township walkable?
Summit Township is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 4.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Summit Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Summit Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Summit Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.