Photo: Coemgenus · CC BY-SA 4.0Topton has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
490 jobs are based in Topton; 1,021 of its residents have a job. Jobs and income earn Topton A−; getting around on foot earns it B. Only 2% work in Topton; the top destination outside it is Maxatawny Township (10%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Topton at work: what stands out
Fewer jobs are based in Topton than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Topton fell from 1,178 in 2013 to 490 in 2023, −58%. 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 ↓
Topton makes and builds things
47% of the jobs based in Topton are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Topton residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 28%. 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.
What’s behind Topton’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Topton is better than 81% of U.S. towns. The poverty rate is its strongest input (4.8%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (4.0%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Topton could be anywhere from B to A+.
A place that makes things: 47% of Topton’s jobs are in goods
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Topton, 2013 → 2023: 1,178 → 490. 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 Topton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Topton by day
On a workday 996 residents head out to work, 25 work right here, and 465 people come in from elsewhere.
About 1,500 people are in Topton on a workday afternoon, 26% fewer than live here.
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 people from Topton work
Where Topton clocks in
10% of workers
8% of workers
5% 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.
The trip to work from Topton: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Topton workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,162 commuters (the 10% 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.
How far Topton’s workers travel
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 Topton commutes by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Topton is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns. Both inputs place Topton 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 1,298 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). 2.9% of Topton households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Topton’s commuters take a bus or train.
Topton next to U.S. towns of 1,400 to 2,800: 716th of 5,793 on jobs and income
| # | 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% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Plandome NY | 1,482 | $250K | 0.9% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Newtown PA | 2,257 | $166K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 31 | Edgeworth PA | 1,611 | $203K | 3.0% | 3.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 57 | West Conshohocken PA | 1,498 | $139K | 5.0% | 1.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 714 | Perry Township OH | 2,763 | $99K | 6.2% | 0.0% | 5% | A− |
| 715 | Newark WI | 1,516 | $96K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 2% | A− |
| 716 | Topton PA | 2,062 | $93K | 4.8% | 4.0% | 2% | A− |
| 717 | Plainfield NH | 2,560 | $123K | 5.2% | 0.6% | 10% | A− |
| 718 | Troy Township OH | 2,408 | $91K | 10.1% | 0.0% | 2% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 5,793 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Topton, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
How Topton compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Longswamp Township (3%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Topton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topton | – | A− | B | 28 min | $92,552 |
| Longswamp Township | 3% | A− | C | 25 min | $81,948 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Topton’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 Topton: questions
What is the median household income in Topton?
$92,552 (±$13,758) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Topton?
4.8%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Topton?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 10% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Topton work?
2% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Maxatawny Township (10%, 3 mi), Upper Macungie Township (8%, 6 mi), Allentown (5%, 13 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Topton walkable?
Topton is more walkable than 61% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 7.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Topton 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 Topton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Topton
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.