White Oak has higher unemployment (7.0%) than 82% of U.S. towns
Measured by household income, White Oak is behind 75% of U.S. towns. Jobs and income earn White Oak C+; getting around on foot earns it B+. Only 6% work in White Oak; the top destination outside it is Pittsburgh (23%, 12 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set White Oak apart
Why White Oak gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, White Oak is better than 42% of U.S. towns, #767 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds White Oak’s grade up (ahead of 83% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, White Oak could be anywhere from C to A−.
The kinds of work in White Oak
1,955 jobs are based in White Oak.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in White Oak, 2013 → 2023: 2,002 → 1,955. 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 White Oak’s own residents hold wherever they work.
White Oak on a workday afternoon
On a workday 3,086 residents head out to work, 193 work right here, and 1,762 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,000 people are in White Oak on a workday afternoon, 18% fewer than live here.
0.60 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 people from White Oak work
Where White Oak clocks in
23% of workers
6% of workers
5% 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 long White Oak spends getting to work: about 28 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of White Oak workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 2,437 commuters (the 22% 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.
Short hops and long hauls from White Oak
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.
Few in White Oak walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, White Oak is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns, #396 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.9% 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 3,139 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 42% 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 3.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 76% 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). 4.4% of White Oak households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of White Oak’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, White Oak is 2,040th among 3,122 U.S. towns of 5,100 to 9,800
| # | 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 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 22 | West Vincent Township PA | 6,885 | $203K | 1.4% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 56 | Bethel Township PA | 9,774 | $177K | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 66 | Upper Nazareth Township PA | 8,521 | $122K | 1.2% | 0.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,038 | Rochester NY | 7,463 | $87K | 8.7% | 5.4% | 15% | C+ |
| 2,039 | Portage Lakes OH | 5,913 | $64K | 11.9% | 6.5% | 3% | C+ |
| 2,040 | White Oak PA | 7,286 | $59K | 9.8% | 7.0% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,041 | Lynchburg TN | 6,920 | $66K | 8.0% | 4.5% | 24% | C+ |
| 2,042 | Hamlin NY | 8,601 | $84K | 11.5% | 6.8% | 5% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,122 | 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 White Oak, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
The towns next door employ 14% of White Oak
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | White Oak workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Oak | – | C+ | B+ | 28 min | $59,452 |
| McKeesport | 6% | D | A+ | 27 min | $34,219 |
| North Versailles Township | 2% | B− | A− | 29 min | $53,353 |
| South Versailles Township | under 2% | — | — | 32 min | — |
| Greenock | under 2% | — | — | 33 min | — |
| Elizabeth Township | 2% | A− | C+ | 30 min | $80,589 |
| North Huntingdon Township | 4% | A− | B− | 29 min | $101,200 |
Same-state neighbors only. South Versailles Township: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Greenock: a Census-designated place inside a larger town, graded as part of it. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to McKeesport. Darker towns draw more of White Oak’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 White Oak: questions
What is the median household income in White Oak?
$59,452 (±$9,840) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in White Oak?
9.8%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from White Oak?
28 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in White Oak work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (23%, 12 mi), McKeesport (6%, 3 mi), Monroeville (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is White Oak walkable?
White Oak is more walkable than 71% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.8 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around White Oak without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 4% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from White Oak, from the people who make the trip.
More of White Oak
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.