Photo: David Wilson · CC BY 2.0More people are out of work in Vandergrift (8.8%) than in 91% of U.S. towns
Only 6% stay in Vandergrift for work; outside it, Pittsburgh is the main destination (11%, 24 miles). Vandergrift grades D for jobs and income and A for walkability. Measured by household income, Vandergrift is behind 87% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Vandergrift and work: the main findings
Vandergrift’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Vandergrift is Pittsburgh, 24 miles away as the crow flies. 11% of working residents (247) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
Many jobs in Vandergrift pay little
28% of the jobs based in Vandergrift pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. The jobs ↓
Vandergrift empties out on a workday
About 3,400 people are in Vandergrift on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than the 4,900 who live here: 2,000 head out to work and 560 come in. Day and night ↓
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 Vandergrift’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Vandergrift is better than 14% of U.S. towns, #999 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Vandergrift’s grade up (ahead of 60% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Vandergrift could be anywhere from D to C.
Half of Vandergrift commutes less than 17 miles
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.
Jobs in Vandergrift: what the 688 are
688 jobs are based in Vandergrift.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Vandergrift, 2013 → 2023: 770 → 688. 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 Vandergrift’s own residents hold wherever they work.
A workday in Vandergrift: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 2,026 residents head out to work, 132 work right here, and 556 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,400 people are in Vandergrift on a workday afternoon, 30% fewer than live here.
0.32 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.
Where Vandergrift goes to work
Where Vandergrift clocks in
11% of workers
4% 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 Vandergrift: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Vandergrift workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,866 commuters (the 20% 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.
Vandergrift 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, Vandergrift is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #154 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place Vandergrift 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 2,325 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 8.2% of Vandergrift households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Vandergrift’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Vandergrift ranks: 3,391st of 3,840 U.S. towns of 3,400 to 6,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 73 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,389 | Fort Pierce South FL | 5,028 | $51K | 29.8% | 7.9% | 1% | D |
| 3,390 | Saugerties NY | 3,853 | $58K | 21.0% | 7.3% | 13% | D |
| 3,391 | Vandergrift PA | 4,903 | $51K | 21.5% | 8.8% | 6% | D |
| 3,392 | Drummer Township IL | 3,914 | $51K | 12.6% | 9.5% | 33% | D |
| 3,393 | Wilna NY | 5,492 | $60K | 19.2% | 5.2% | 16% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,840 | 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 Vandergrift, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Next door to Vandergrift
The biggest share goes to Allegheny Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Vandergrift workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vandergrift | – | D | A | 25 min | $50,901 |
| Allegheny Township | 4% | B | C+ | 33 min | $79,894 |
| Parks Township | 3% | C− | D | 31 min | $66,944 |
| Pleasant View | under 3% | — | — | 34 min | — |
| North Vandergrift | under 3% | — | — | — | — |
| East Vandergrift | under 3% | — | — | 24 min | — |
| North Apollo | under 3% | C+ | B+ | 26 min | $66,629 |
| Kiskiminetas Township | under 3% | B− | C− | 28 min | $64,896 |
Same-state neighbors only. Pleasant View and North Vandergrift: Census-designated places inside larger towns, graded as part of them. East Vandergrift: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Vandergrift’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 Vandergrift: questions
What is the median household income in Vandergrift?
$50,901 (±$3,139) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Vandergrift?
21.5%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Vandergrift?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Vandergrift work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (11%, 24 mi), Allegheny Township (4%, 4 mi), Washington Township (4%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Vandergrift walkable?
Vandergrift is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 10.4 out of 20, and 9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Vandergrift without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Vandergrift, from the people who make the trip.
More of Vandergrift
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.