Photo: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0Jobs 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
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.
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.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Wind Gap could be anywhere from C to A.
Jobs in Wind Gap: what the 905 are
905 jobs are based in Wind Gap.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
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.
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.
About 3,200 people are in Wind Gap on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
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.
Out of Wind Gap to work: where people go
Where Wind Gap clocks in
6% of workers
5% 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.
The trip to work from Wind Gap: about 26 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Wind Gap workers work from home, vs 16% across Pennsylvania. Their commute is the hallway.
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.
Miles to work from Wind Gap
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 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.
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
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.
1,630th of 4,474: where Wind Gap ranks among U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,900
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 21 | Wallace Township PA | 3,759 | $183K | 1.9% | 0.0% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Edgmont Township PA | 4,706 | $137K | 2.4% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Pocopson Township PA | 4,480 | $230K | 1.3% | 2.2% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,628 | The Homesteads TX | 3,053 | $77K | 15.7% | 3.1% | <1% | B |
| 1,629 | Rock Valley IA | 4,188 | $76K | 9.3% | 0.4% | 36% | B |
| 1,630 | Wind Gap PA | 3,630 | $71K | 5.8% | 4.6% | 4% | B |
| 1,631 | Kankakee Township IN | 4,743 | $109K | 9.0% | 5.2% | 9% | B |
| 1,632 | Wakeman Township OH | 2,806 | $82K | 11.1% | 2.4% | 2% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 4,474 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 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.
How Wind Gap compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Plainfield Township (3%).
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Wind Gap workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind Gap | – | B | B− | 26 min | $71,375 |
| Plainfield Township | 3% | B | C | 24 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.
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 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.
More of Wind Gap
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.