Photo: Generic1139 · CC BY 3.0West Deer Township has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.4 for each
Jobs and income earn West Deer Township A−; getting around on foot earns it B−. West Deer Township has 2,415 jobs; 5,454 of its residents have a job. Only 8% stay in West Deer Township for work; outside it, Pittsburgh is the main destination (22%, 15 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Breaking down the Jobs & income grade for West Deer Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Deer Township is better than 82% of U.S. towns, #279 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (8.2%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Deer Township could be anywhere from B to A+.
Who works in West Deer Township, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 5,021 residents head out to work, 433 work right here, and 1,982 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,300 people are in West Deer Township on a workday afternoon, 25% 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where West Deer Township goes to work
Where West Deer Township clocks in
22% 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.
Goods jobs make up 28% of work in West Deer Township
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Deer Township, 2014 → 2024: 2,637 → 2,415. 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 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs West Deer Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
From West Deer Township, about 29 minutes to the job
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Deer Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,635 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.
The commute from West Deer Township, by distance
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most trips from West Deer Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Deer Township is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns, #608 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Both inputs place West Deer Township 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 5,812 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). 2.1% of West Deer Township households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of West Deer Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
West Deer Township next to U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000: 660th of 2,354 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Lower Moreland Township PA | 14,116 | $154K | 2.6% | 2.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Bethel Township PA | 9,774 | $177K | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 41 | Skippack Township PA | 14,502 | $148K | 2.5% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 658 | Prospect Heights IL | 15,552 | $85K | 7.3% | 3.5% | 3% | A− |
| 659 | Gibsonville NC | 9,876 | $96K | 5.8% | 3.3% | 2% | A− |
| 660 | West Deer Township PA | 12,301 | $95K | 8.2% | 2.7% | 8% | A− |
| 661 | Maywood NJ | 10,166 | $118K | 3.9% | 8.1% | 5% | A− |
| 662 | Dent OH | 11,973 | $87K | 4.3% | 3.9% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 28% | 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 West Deer Township, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
West Deer Township and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Richland Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Deer Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Deer Township | – | A− | B− | 29 min | $94,820 |
| Richland Township | 4% | A | B− | 29 min | $118,333 |
| Clinton Township | under 2% | A− | D− | 24 min | $84,839 |
| Frazer Township | under 2% | B+ | C | 26 min | $77,625 |
| Indiana Township | 2% | A | C+ | 24 min | $115,375 |
| Hampton Township | 3% | A+ | C+ | 27 min | $134,156 |
| Middlesex Township | under 2% | A− | C− | 37 min | $114,036 |
| Bakerstown | under 2% | — | — | 35 min | — |
| Fawn Township | under 2% | B− | C− | 30 min | $87,674 |
Same-state neighbors only. Bakerstown: 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 West Deer 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 2024, 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 West Deer Township: questions
What is the median household income in West Deer Township?
$94,820 (±$8,828) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Deer Township?
8.2%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Deer Township?
29 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 20% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Deer Township work?
8% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (22%, 15 mi), Richland Township (4%, 5 mi), Hampton Township (3%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is West Deer Township walkable?
West Deer Township is more walkable than 49% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Deer Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Deer Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Deer Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, 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.