Photo: Generic1139 · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Whitehall (6.3%) is higher than in 77% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 7.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 37.5 in Pittsburgh. For jobs and income Whitehall is better than 68% of U.S. towns (B+); for walkability it is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (A). Only 6% work in Whitehall; the top destination outside it is Pittsburgh (33%, 6 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Whitehall, in a few figures
A lot of Whitehall works one town over
41% of working residents work in a town that borders Whitehall: Pittsburgh (33%), Brentwood (3%) and Bethel Park (3%). Next door ↓
Most Whitehall residents work close to home
69% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Whitehall’s working residents have a job less than 6 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 29 minutes, longer than the Pennsylvania average of 26. Time on the road ↓
Nearly all the work in Whitehall is services
89% of the jobs based here are in services, such as health care, schools and offices. Only 3% are in factories, building or farms. The jobs ↓
The better-paid jobs are outside Whitehall
65% of Whitehall residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 46% of the jobs based in Whitehall pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 94% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓
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.
Where Whitehall’s Jobs & income grade comes from
Job access by car holds Whitehall’s grade up (ahead of 88% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Whitehall could be anywhere from B− to A.
Near or far: the trip to work from Whitehall
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.
Each way, about 29 minutes from Whitehall
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Whitehall workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 5,980 commuters (the 16% 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.
Most jobs in Whitehall are in services
4,572 jobs are based in Whitehall.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Whitehall, 2013 → 2023: 3,399 → 4,572. 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 Whitehall’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Whitehall quiets down on a workday
On a workday 6,260 residents head out to work, 409 work right here, and 4,163 people come in from elsewhere.
About 12,000 people are in Whitehall on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.69 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 Whitehall’s working residents head each day
Where Whitehall clocks in
33% of workers
3% of workers
3% 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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Whitehall
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,158 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, 48% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 90% 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). 9.9% of Whitehall households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Whitehall’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Whitehall ranks: 1,070th of 2,362 U.S. towns of 10,000 to 20,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 3 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Lower Moreland Township PA | 14,116 | $154K | 2.6% | 2.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Skippack Township PA | 14,502 | $148K | 2.5% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Upper Uwchlan Township PA | 13,681 | $191K | 1.6% | 2.6% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,068 | Merriam KS | 11,509 | $74K | 6.0% | 5.4% | 5% | B+ |
| 1,069 | Lawrence Township OH | 13,626 | $78K | 9.1% | 3.3% | 11% | B+ |
| 1,070 | Whitehall PA | 14,521 | $89K | 6.7% | 6.3% | 6% | B+ |
| 1,071 | Granbury TX | 13,263 | $74K | 6.9% | 2.7% | 20% | B+ |
| 1,072 | Emmett Township MI | 11,712 | $79K | 10.0% | 2.5% | 10% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,362 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Whitehall, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Next door is work for 41% of Whitehall
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Whitehall workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitehall | – | B+ | A | 29 min | $89,404 |
| Baldwin | 2% | A− | A− | 26 min | $80,983 |
| Brentwood | 3% | C+ | A+ | 32 min | $68,904 |
| Pittsburgh | 33% | C+ | A+ | 23 min | $65,742 |
| Castle Shannon | under 2% | B+ | A+ | 25 min | $64,071 |
| Bethel Park | 3% | A | A | 27 min | $107,090 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Pittsburgh. Darker towns draw more of Whitehall’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 Whitehall: questions
What is the median household income in Whitehall?
$89,404 (±$11,120) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Whitehall?
6.7%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Whitehall?
29 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Whitehall work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Pittsburgh (33%, 6 mi), Bethel Park (3%, 4 mi), Brentwood (3%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Whitehall walkable?
Whitehall is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.3 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Whitehall without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 48% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Whitehall, from the people who make the trip.
More of Whitehall
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.