Caleb Pusey House · Photo: Smallbones. · Public domainA job hub: Upland has 2.3 jobs per working resident, and 2,999 people come in to work
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.4 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 37.7 in Philadelphia. Employers in Upland report 3,067 jobs; 1,332 of its residents have a job. The two grades for Upland are B− for jobs and income and A+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Upland apart on work
Upland is where the jobs are
Upland has 3,067 jobs, 2.3 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 4,800 people are in town, 57% more than the 3,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Nearly all the work in Upland is services
95% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 2% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Upland pay better than its residents’ jobs
74% of the jobs based in Upland pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 53% of the jobs Upland residents hold. 98% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Upland. The jobs ↓
Commutes from Upland are quick
The average trip to work takes 19 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 54 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer jobs are based in Upland than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Upland fell from 4,621 in 2013 to 3,067 in 2023, −34%. 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 ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Upland: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Upland is better than 50% of U.S. towns, #692 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Upland’s grade up (ahead of 94% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.8%, U.S. 5.2%).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Upland could be anywhere from C to A.
Upland by day and by night
On a workday 1,264 residents head out to work and 68 work right here.
About 4,800 people are in Upland on a workday afternoon, 57% more 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.
Upland is a services town
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Upland, 2013 → 2023: 4,621 → 3,067. 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 Upland’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A commute of about 19 minutes in Upland
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Upland workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,317 commuters (the 4% 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.
Where the people who work in Upland live
Where Upland clocks in
19% of workers
3% 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 Upland
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Upland
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Upland is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns, #59 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Upland 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 1,379 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 35% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 86% 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). 6.3% of Upland households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Upland’s commuters take a bus or train.
Upland places 2,267th of 4,771 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 2,100 to 4,100
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | Newtown PA | 2,257 | $166K | 2.0% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 61 | West Pikeland Township PA | 4,045 | $226K | 0.9% | 2.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,265 | Cudjoe Key FL | 2,492 | $88K | 8.6% | 2.5% | 11% | B− |
| 2,266 | Sterlington LA | 2,663 | $69K | 17.3% | 1.4% | 3% | B− |
| 2,267 | Upland PA | 3,049 | $62K | 10.0% | 5.8% | 5% | B− |
| 2,268 | Orangeville Township MI | 3,497 | $83K | 6.9% | 5.7% | 4% | B− |
| 2,269 | Codorus Township PA | 4,014 | $102K | 9.5% | 7.2% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,771 | 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 Upland, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Work in the towns next to Upland
The biggest share goes to Chester (5%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Upland workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upland | – | B− | A+ | 19 min | $61,553 |
| Chester | 5% | C− | A+ | 23 min | $41,342 |
| Chester Township | under 2% | C+ | A | 19 min | $58,125 |
| Brookhaven | under 2% | A | A− | 27 min | $91,042 |
| Parkside | under 2% | A | A+ | 23 min | $93,929 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Upland’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 Upland: questions
What is the median household income in Upland?
$61,553 (±$10,536) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Upland?
10.0%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Upland?
19 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 4% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Upland work?
5% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Philadelphia (19%, 17 mi), Chester (5%, 1 mi), Media (3%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Upland walkable?
Upland is more walkable than 97% of U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 12.5 out of 20, and 18% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Upland without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 35% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Upland, from the people who make the trip.
More of Upland
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.