Photo: Montgomery County Planning Commission · CC BY-SA 2.0There are 3.4 jobs in Upper Merion Township for every working resident, and 57,954 people commute in
Measured by household income, Upper Merion Township is ahead of 89% of U.S. towns. Employers in Upper Merion Township report 60,715 jobs, and 17,660 of its residents work somewhere. The two grades for Upper Merion Township are A 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
Getting to work from Upper Merion Township, in brief
Upper Merion Township fills up on a workday
Upper Merion Township has 60,715 jobs, 3.4 for every working resident. On a workday afternoon about 80,000 people are in town, more than double the 37,000 who live here. Day and night ↓
Home offices are common in Upper Merion Township
30% of Upper Merion Township workers work from home, against 16% across Pennsylvania. Time on the road ↓
Upper Merion Township draws workers from far and wide
The 60,715 jobs in Upper Merion Township are filled from a wide area. Upper Merion Township’s own residents hold 5% and the ten next-biggest home towns 25%; the other 70% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Upper Merion Township and Philadelphia trade workers both ways
Philadelphia is the top workplace for Upper Merion Township residents (18%) and also where the most people who work in Upper Merion Township come from (14% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Most jobs in Upper Merion Township pay over $40,000 a year
72% of the jobs based in Upper Merion Township pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), the top earnings band in the Census data. 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 drives the Jobs & income grade in Upper Merion Township
Job access by car holds Upper Merion Township’s grade up (ahead of 95% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (4.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Upper Merion Township could be anywhere from A− to A+.
In and out of Upper Merion Township on a workday
On a workday 14,899 residents head out to work and 2,761 work right here.
About 80,000 people are in Upper Merion Township on a workday afternoon, 117% more than live here.
3.4 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than 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.
How long Upper Merion Township spends getting to work: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Upper Merion Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 14,266 commuters (the 30% 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.
Commuting in to Upper Merion Township: where workers come from
Where Upper Merion Township clocks in
18% of workers
7% 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.
72% of the jobs in Upper Merion Township pay over $3,333 a month
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Upper Merion Township, 2013 → 2023: 55,875 → 60,715. 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 Upper Merion Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Upper Merion Township’s commute, mile by mile
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Upper Merion Township
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Upper Merion Township is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns, #261 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.1% 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 20,325 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 61% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 25% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 8.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 91% 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). 6.0% of Upper Merion Township households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Upper Merion Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Upper Merion Township is 226th of 1,162 U.S. towns of 26,000 to 50,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper Dublin Township PA | 27,258 | $168K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 8% | A+ |
| 2 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 3 | Southlake TX | 31,175 | $250K | 1.5% | 2.7% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 23 | Northampton Township PA | 39,919 | $159K | 2.5% | 3.1% | 8% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Horsham Township PA | 27,882 | $122K | 4.3% | 2.4% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 224 | Oakdale MN | 30,588 | $94K | 5.7% | 3.2% | 6% | A |
| 225 | Wentzville MO | 49,495 | $112K | 5.4% | 2.7% | 13% | A |
| 226 | Upper Merion Township PA | 36,674 | $122K | 4.5% | 4.9% | 16% | A |
| 227 | Jenks OK | 28,175 | $111K | 6.8% | 2.6% | 9% | A |
| 228 | Maplewood Township NJ | 26,320 | $174K | 3.3% | 6.7% | 5% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,162 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Upper Merion Township, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Work in the towns next to Upper Merion Township
The biggest share goes to Tredyffrin Township (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Upper Merion Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Merion Township | – | A | A | 25 min | $121,985 |
| Tredyffrin Township | 7% | A | A | 26 min | $162,194 |
| West Norriton Township | under 2% | A− | A− | 25 min | $94,666 |
| Schuylkill Township | under 2% | A+ | B | 26 min | $171,786 |
| Bridgeport | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 19 min | $82,705 |
| Plymouth Township | 2% | A | A | 26 min | $119,006 |
| West Conshohocken | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 24 min | $139,375 |
| Lower Providence Township | under 2% | A | A− | 28 min | $119,165 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Upper Merion 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 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 Upper Merion Township: questions
What is the median household income in Upper Merion Township?
$121,985 (±$5,754) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Upper Merion Township?
4.5%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Upper Merion Township?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 30% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Upper Merion Township work?
16% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Philadelphia (18%, 14 mi), Tredyffrin Township (7%, 4 mi), Lower Merion Township (3%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Upper Merion Township walkable?
Upper Merion Township is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 11.2 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Upper Merion Township without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 25% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Upper Merion Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Upper Merion Township
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.