Wilson has fewer jobs than working residents: 0.5 for each
1,940 jobs are based in Wilson for 3,572 working residents. Wilson grades B for jobs and income and A for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 5.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 8.3 in Allentown.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Wilson at work: what stands out
Fewer jobs are based in Wilson than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Wilson fell from 3,308 in 2013 to 1,940 in 2023, −41%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
No single place dominates Wilson’s commute
The biggest draw, Palmer Township, gets only 8% of working residents, and 54% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Wilson residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
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 the Jobs & income grade adds up in Wilson
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wilson is better than 65% of U.S. towns, #525 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Job access by car holds Wilson’s grade up (ahead of 80% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate pulls it down (10.5%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and unemployment.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wilson could be anywhere from C+ to A.
The kinds of work in Wilson
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Wilson, 2013 → 2023: 3,308 → 1,940. 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 Wilson’s own residents hold wherever they work.
8% of working residents work in Palmer Township
Where Wilson clocks in
8% of workers
7% of workers
6% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Wilson
On a workday 3,428 residents head out to work, 144 work right here, and 1,796 people come in from elsewhere.
About 6,500 people are in Wilson on a workday afternoon, 20% 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 trip to work from Wilson: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wilson workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 3,404 commuters (the 11% 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.
How far Wilson’s workers travel
About 17% 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 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Wilson is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wilson is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns, #145 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.8% 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 3,812 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, 84% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 5.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 84% 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). 10.5% of Wilson households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 3% of Wilson’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Wilson is 1,325th of 3,007 U.S. towns of 5,700 to 11,000
| # | 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+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | West Vincent Township PA | 6,885 | $203K | 1.4% | 0.8% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 51 | Bethel Township PA | 9,774 | $177K | 1.8% | 2.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 59 | Upper Nazareth Township PA | 8,521 | $122K | 1.2% | 0.9% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,323 | Perry Heights OH | 8,756 | $62K | 8.9% | 2.8% | 3% | B |
| 1,324 | Independence IA | 6,312 | $74K | 7.6% | 2.3% | 33% | B |
| 1,325 | Wilson PA | 8,159 | $83K | 10.5% | 4.1% | 4% | B |
| 1,326 | Logan Township NJ | 6,126 | $114K | 16.0% | 5.0% | 12% | B |
| 1,327 | Pompey NY | 6,995 | $111K | 3.4% | 8.6% | 4% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 3,007 | 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 Wilson, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.
Work next door: 14% of Wilson’s workers
The biggest share goes to Palmer Township (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wilson workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilson | – | B | A | 25 min | $82,902 |
| Palmer Township | 8% | A | A− | 28 min | $116,014 |
| West Easton | under 3% | A− | B | 19 min | $81,250 |
| Easton | 6% | C+ | A+ | 28 min | $69,348 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Wilson’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 Wilson: questions
What is the median household income in Wilson?
$82,902 (±$12,527) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Wilson?
10.5%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Wilson?
25 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 11% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Wilson work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Palmer Township (8%, 2 mi), Bethlehem (7%, 8 mi), Easton (6%, 1 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Wilson walkable?
Wilson is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 16.3 out of 20, and 5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Wilson without a car?
3% of commuters take transit and 10% of households have no car. 84% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Wilson, from the people who make the trip.
More of Wilson
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.