Photo: Shuvaev · CC BY-SA 4.0At 8.8%, unemployment in West Penn Township is higher than in 91% of U.S. towns
The two grades for West Penn Township are C+ for jobs and income and B for walkability. Working from home is the commute for 8% of workers, against 16% across Pennsylvania. About one in ten work in West Penn Township itself; outside it, Tamaqua draws the most (4%, 5 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
West Penn Township and work: the main findings
West Penn Township workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 32 minutes each way, against 26 across Pennsylvania. Over a year that’s about 245 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
West Penn Township has added jobs fast
Jobs based in West Penn Township went from 664 in 2014 to 945 in 2024, +42%. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in West Penn Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West Penn Township is better than 41% of U.S. towns, #768 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The poverty rate holds West Penn Township’s grade up (5.8%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West Penn Township could be anywhere from C− to A−.
A commute of about 32 minutes in West Penn Township
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West Penn Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,758 commuters (the 8% 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.
Factories, building and farms: 33% of the jobs in West Penn Township
945 jobs are based in West Penn Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West Penn Township, 2014 → 2024: 664 → 945. 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 Penn Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who commutes out of West Penn Township, and who commutes in
On a workday 1,538 residents head out to work, 182 work right here, and 763 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,800 people are in West Penn Township on a workday afternoon, 17% fewer than live here.
0.55 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 2024, primary jobs.
Where West Penn Township goes to work
Where West Penn Township clocks in
4% of workers
4% of workers
2% 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.
How far it is to work from West Penn Township
About 22% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
In West Penn Township, most people drive to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, West Penn Township is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns, #529 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 7.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 8.6% across Pennsylvania, on an EPA index of 5.3.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,907 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 0.8% of West Penn Township households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of West Penn Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
2,429th of 3,938: where West Penn Township ranks among U.S. towns of 3,200 to 6,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 30 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 68 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,427 | Morris MN | 5,150 | $68K | 15.9% | 0.6% | 51% | C+ |
| 2,428 | Owosso Township MI | 4,786 | $57K | 13.6% | 3.2% | 8% | C+ |
| 2,429 | West Penn Township PA | 4,616 | $72K | 5.8% | 8.8% | 11% | C+ |
| 2,430 | Benton KY | 4,718 | $67K | 11.4% | 4.0% | 15% | C+ |
| 2,431 | Plainwell MI | 3,722 | $67K | 10.4% | 6.7% | 6% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,938 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 19% | 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 Penn Township, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
The towns around West Penn Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | West Penn Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Penn Township | – | C+ | B | 32 min | $71,977 |
| Walker Township | under 2% | B+ | B | 22 min | $88,571 |
| Lynn Township | under 2% | B+ | C | 32 min | $87,784 |
| East Brunswick Township | under 2% | A− | C− | 30 min | $107,625 |
| East Penn Township | under 2% | C+ | D | 41 min | $70,294 |
| Mahoning Township | under 2% | B+ | C | 31 min | $71,881 |
| Tamaqua | 4% | D | A | 25 min | $46,176 |
| Heidelberg Township | under 2% | A− | D | 27 min | $91,553 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Tamaqua. Darker towns draw more of West Penn 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 Penn Township: questions
What is the median household income in West Penn Township?
$71,977 (±$13,326) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West Penn Township?
5.8%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West Penn Township?
32 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West Penn Township work?
11% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Tamaqua (4%, 5 mi), Upper Macungie Township (4%, 18 mi), Pottsville (2%, 18 mi) (Census LEHD 2024).
Is West Penn Township walkable?
West Penn Township is more walkable than 57% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 5.3 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West Penn Township without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West Penn Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of West Penn 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.