Photo: Nyttend · Public domainWith 0.4 jobs for every working resident, most of West View works elsewhere
Jobs and income earn West View B+; getting around on foot earns it A. There are 1,495 jobs in West View, against 3,402 working residents. Only 4% stay in West View for work; outside it, Pittsburgh is the main destination (32%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
West View at work: what stands out
Most West View residents work close to home
69% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. Only 8% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
One in three of West View works in Pittsburgh
1,077 working residents, 32%, have their main job in Pittsburgh, 6.2 miles away. That’s 8 times as many as work in West View itself. The commute map ↓
Commutes from West View are quick
The average trip to work takes 20 minutes, against 26 across Pennsylvania. That’s about 46 hours a year less on the road than the typical Pennsylvania worker. Time on the road ↓
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.
How West View earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, West View is better than 67% of U.S. towns, #492 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds West View’s grade up (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.1%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, West View could be anywhere from C+ to A.
How far West View’s workers travel
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.
The places West View commutes to
Where West View clocks in
32% of workers
7% 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.
Time on the road from West View: about 20 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of West View workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,192 commuters (the 13% 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.
Who commutes out of West View, and who commutes in
On a workday 3,279 residents head out to work, 123 work right here, and 1,372 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,400 people are in West View on a workday afternoon, 30% 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 2023, primary jobs.
The kinds of work in West View
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in West View, 2013 → 2023: 1,754 → 1,495. 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 West View’s own residents hold wherever they work.
West View is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.3% 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 3,676 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, 68% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 11.9 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 95% 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). 7.7% of West View households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of West View’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, West View is 1,301st of 3,396 U.S. towns of 4,400 to 8,600
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 25 | West Vincent Township PA | 6,885 | $203K | 1.4% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 63 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,299 | Chelsea MI | 5,424 | $72K | 4.1% | 4.9% | 17% | B+ |
| 1,300 | Lake City MN | 5,306 | $72K | 5.9% | 0.6% | 37% | B+ |
| 1,301 | West View PA | 6,355 | $84K | 8.8% | 5.1% | 4% | B+ |
| 1,302 | Xenia Township OH | 7,320 | $95K | 4.8% | 6.8% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,303 | Lancaster Township IN | 6,234 | $77K | 8.7% | 1.7% | 16% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,396 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 14% | 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 View, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
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 West View: questions
What is the median household income in West View?
$84,063 (±$18,049) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in West View?
8.8%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from West View?
20 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in West View work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (32%, 6 mi), Ross Township (7%, 1 mi), McCandless Township (5%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is West View walkable?
West View is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 15.5 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around West View without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 68% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from West View, from the people who make the trip.
More of West View
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.