Photo: Canadian2006 · CC BY-SA 3.0Fewer people are out of work in Trafford (1.0%) than in 94% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 37.5 in Pittsburgh. Trafford grades B+ for jobs and income and A for walkability. Only 3% work in Trafford; the top destination outside it is Pittsburgh (26%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Trafford apart on work
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Trafford
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Trafford is better than 75% of U.S. towns, #390 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Unemployment holds Trafford’s grade up; household income pulls it down ($65,839, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Trafford could be anywhere from B− to A.
In Trafford, 32% of jobs are in factories, building or farming
748 jobs are based in Trafford.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Trafford, 2013 → 2023: 485 → 748. 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 Trafford’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily commute in and out of Trafford
On a workday 1,569 residents head out to work, 48 work right here, and 700 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,300 people are in Trafford on a workday afternoon, 27% fewer than live here.
0.46 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.
Out of Trafford to work: where people go
Where Trafford clocks in
26% 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.
About 25 minutes to work from Trafford
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Trafford workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,284 commuters (the 16% 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.
The commute from Trafford, by distance
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.
Trafford is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Trafford is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns, #190 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 5.0% 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 1,527 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 99% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 53% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 81% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.4% of Trafford households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Trafford’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,698 U.S. towns of 2,200 to 4,300, Trafford comes 1,051st 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 | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,049 | Grattan Township MI | 3,896 | $111K | 1.9% | 6.3% | 2% | B+ |
| 1,050 | Paradise Township PA | 4,096 | $79K | 4.1% | 3.8% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,051 | Trafford PA | 3,211 | $66K | 9.2% | 1.0% | 3% | B+ |
| 1,052 | Palmer TX | 2,644 | $104K | 4.5% | 7.2% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,053 | Lisbon CT | 4,260 | $93K | 6.6% | 3.2% | 6% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,698 | 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 Trafford, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Trafford and its neighbors: 16% work next door
The biggest share goes to Monroeville (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Trafford workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trafford | – | B+ | A | 25 min | $65,839 |
| Monroeville | 8% | B | A− | 25 min | $79,218 |
| North Huntingdon Township | 5% | A− | B− | 29 min | $101,200 |
| Level Green | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Penn Township | 3% | A | B− | 31 min | $113,086 |
| North Versailles Township | under 2% | B− | A− | 29 min | $53,353 |
Same-state neighbors only. Level Green: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Trafford’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 Trafford: questions
What is the median household income in Trafford?
$65,839 (±$15,706) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Trafford?
9.2%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Trafford?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Trafford work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (26%, 12 mi), Monroeville (8%, 3 mi), North Huntingdon Township (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Trafford walkable?
Trafford is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.7 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Trafford without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 53% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Trafford, from the people who make the trip.
More of Trafford
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.