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Wind Gap NamesakePhoto: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0
Jobs & commute in Wind Gap

Jobs and earnings in Wind Gap, and the trip to work

At 26 minutes each way, commutes from Wind Gap run about the Pennsylvania average. The two grades for Wind Gap are B for jobs and income and B− for walkability. Only 4% stay in Wind Gap for work; outside it, Palmer Township is the main destination (6%, 10 miles).

Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made

What stands out · In brief

Wind Gap and work: the main findings

The better-paid jobs are outside Wind Gap

64% of Wind Gap residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, but only 39% of the jobs based in Wind Gap pay that much. Most residents work elsewhere: 96% leave town for their job. The jobs ↓

Many jobs in Wind Gap pay little

28% of the jobs based in Wind Gap pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 32% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. The jobs ↓

Stores, warehouses and trucking

40% of the jobs in Wind Gap are in trade, transport and utilities, against 22% of the jobs its residents hold. 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.

Jobs & income grade

Income, poverty and work: Wind Gap’s grade explained

On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Wind Gap is better than 63% of U.S. towns, #547 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The poverty rate holds Wind Gap’s grade up (5.8%, U.S. 12.5%); household income pulls it down ($71,375, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on job access by car.

Household income $71,375 (±$19,365) · PA $77,971 · U.S. $80,734Higher than 44% of U.S. towns
Poverty 5.8% · PA 11.7% · U.S. 12.5%Lower than 75% of U.S. towns
Unemployment 4.6% (±2.9) · PA 5.3% · U.S. 5.2%Lower than 44% of U.S. towns
Job access by car EPA, jobs within a 45-minute driveMore than 69% of U.S. towns
Pennsylvania towns we grade 1,035 towns#547 of 1,035
CA

A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wind Gap could be anywhere from C to A.

How TownRatings grades jobs & income →

★ What stands out · The jobs

Jobs in Wind Gap: what the 905 are

905 jobs are based in Wind Gap.

Jobs based in Wind GapJobs Wind Gap residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms17%23%
Trade, transport & utilities40%22%
Services: health, schools, offices42%56%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less28%13%
$1,251–$3,333 a month33%23%
Over $3,333 a month39%64%

Who does it

29 or younger32%22%
30 to 5440%50%
55 and older27%28%
+1%

Jobs based in Wind Gap, 2013 → 2023: 899 → 905. 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 Wind Gap’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Day and night

Wind Gap by day and by night

On a workday 1,291 residents head out to work, 52 work right here, and 853 people come in from elsewhere.

1,291live here, work elsewhere
52live and work here
853work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night3,600
Workday3,200
3,600live here− 1,300head out to work+ 850come in to work= 3,200on a workday

About 3,200 people are in Wind Gap on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.67jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.67 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.

The commute map

Out of Wind Gap to work: where people go

Pen ArgylWind GapBangorAllentown: 43 residents work here (3%)Bethlehem: 61 residents work here (5%)Philadelphia: 27 residents work here (2%)Lower Nazareth Township: 47 residents work here (3%)Hanover Township: 41 residents work here (3%)Chestnuthill TownshipPlainfield Township: 40 residents work here (3%)Upper Mount Bethel TownshipPalmer Township: 79 residents work here (6%)Ross TownshipForks Township: 37 residents work here (3%)Bushkill TownshipBethlehem Township: 39 residents work here (3%)Washington TownshipPalmer TownshipBethlehemLower Nazareth TownshipAllentownHanover TownshipPlainfield TownshipWind Gap
1
Palmer Township10.3 mi away
6%79
2
Bethlehem15.9 mi away
5%61
3
Wind Gap (in town)right here
4%52
5
Allentown20.2 mi away
3%43
6
Hanover Township13.7 mi away
3%41
73%40
8
Bethlehem Township12.8 mi away
3%39
9
Forks Township8.6 mi away
3%37
10
Philadelphia58.6 mi away
2%27
Everywhere elseother towns and states
65%877
The top trips

Where Wind Gap clocks in

Lines 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

The trip to work from Wind Gap: about 26 minutes

A year of commuting
199 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Wind Gap26 min
Pennsylvania26 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
16%

of Wind Gap workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.

About 2 in 10
How Wind Gap gets to work
94%Drive alone
6%Carpool

Share of the 1,488 commuters (the 15% 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

Miles to work from Wind Gap

10 mi25 mi50 mi70 miPalmer Township: 6% · 10.3 miBethlehem: 5% · 15.9 miLower Nazareth Township: 3% · 10 miAllentown: 3% · 20.2 miHanover Township: 3% · 13.7 miPlainfield Township: 3% · 2.6 miBethlehem Township: 3% · 12.8 miForks Township: 3% · 8.6 miPhiladelphia: 2% · 58.6 miPalmer Township 6%Bethlehem 5%Lower Nazareth Township 3%Allentown 3%Wind Gap
Wind GapTop destinations (size = commuters)
29%Under 10 mi389 residents
43%10–24 mi574 residents
13%25–50 mi168 residents
16%Over 50 mi210 residents

About 16% 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.

Getting around · Walkability grade

Getting around Wind Gap: mostly by car

On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Wind Gap is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns, #566 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.6% across Pennsylvania.

EPA walkability index 13.9 of 20 · typical PA town 6.7 · U.S. 6.9Higher than 96% of U.S. towns
Walk, bike or transit 0.0% of commuters · PA 8.6% · U.S. 7.1%Higher than 7% of U.S. towns
Pennsylvania towns we grade 1,035 towns#566 of 1,035
B−B−

A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,760 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, 38% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 60% 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

Allentown8.3
Wind Gap1.1

Households without a car (shown, not graded). 7.0% of Wind Gap households have no vehicle (Pennsylvania 10.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Wind Gap’s commuters take a bus or train.

Towns its size

1,630th of 4,474: where Wind Gap ranks among U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,900

#TownPeopleHousehold incomePovertyUnemploymentWork in townGrade
1Riverwoods IL3,766$249K0.7%0.7%2%A+
2Belle Meade TN2,621$250K1.4%0.3%2%A+
3Mission Hills KS3,522$250K1.2%0.3%2%A+
…
21Wallace Township PA3,759$183K1.9%0.0%3%A+
…
26Edgmont Township PA4,706$137K2.4%1.1%3%A+
…
67Pocopson Township PA4,480$230K1.3%2.2%3%A+
…
1,628The Homesteads TX3,053$77K15.7%3.1%<1%B
1,629Rock Valley IA4,188$76K9.3%0.4%36%B
1,630Wind Gap PA3,630$71K5.8%4.6%4%B
1,631Kankakee Township IN4,743$109K9.0%5.2%9%B
1,632Wakeman Township OH2,806$82K11.1%2.4%2%B
…
4,474Lake Isabella CA4,059$27K40.7%8.6%18%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 Wind Gap, the top three, the last and three more from Pennsylvania.

Next door

How Wind Gap compares with the towns next door

The biggest share goes to Plainfield Township (3%).

Jobs & commute next door

TownWind Gap workers thereJobs & incomeWalkabilityCommuteHousehold income
Wind Gap–BB−26 min$71,375
Plainfield Township3%BC24 min$87,230

Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.

Darker towns draw more of Wind Gap’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

How to read these numbers

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.

How these figures and grades are made →

Jobs and commuting in Wind Gap: questions

What is the median household income in Wind Gap?

$71,375 (±$19,365) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,971 across Pennsylvania and $80,734 nationally.

What is the poverty rate in Wind Gap?

5.8%, against 11.7% across Pennsylvania and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).

How long is the commute from Wind Gap?

26 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Pennsylvania and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.

Where do people who live in Wind Gap work?

4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Palmer Township (6%, 10 mi), Bethlehem (5%, 16 mi), Lower Nazareth Township (3%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).

Is Wind Gap walkable?

Wind Gap is more walkable than 53% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 13.9 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.

Can you get around Wind Gap without a car?

0% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 38% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Wind Gap, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Ask neighbors
Beyond the commute

More of Wind Gap

Wind Gap home →

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.