Sign inJoin
Work & commute in Altamont · A commuter town

100% of Altamont’s working residents leave town for work

Most working residents leave Altamont for work: only 0% work in town. The top destinations are Shenandoah (11%), Pottsville (7%) and West Mahanoy (6%). Half commute less than 17 miles.

Work in town
0%
1 of 265 working residents
Typical commute
17 mi
half travel less, straight-line
Time each way
23 min
Less than PA (26 min)
Work from home
3%
Less than PA (16%)
Jobs based here
40
A commuter town

What kind of work town is Altamont?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · The commute map

11% of working residents work in Shenandoah

A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.

PrincetonMahanoy CityGirardvilleFrackville: 5 residents work here (2%)Mount CarmelSchuylkill HavenShenandoah: 28 residents work here (11%)AuburnPottsville: 19 residents work here (7%)TamaquaPhiladelphia: 6 residents work here (2%)Foster: 6 residents work here (2%)West Mahanoy: 16 residents work here (6%)Cass: 10 residents work here (4%)Upper Macungie: 5 residents work here (2%)Hazle: 7 residents work here (3%)Mahoning: 6 residents work here (2%)AltamontShenandoahPottsvilleWest MahanoyCassHazlePhiladelphiaAltamont
1
Shenandoah2.4 mi away
11%28
2
Pottsville7.3 mi away
7%19
3
West Mahanoy1.6 mi away
6%16
4
Cass5.6 mi away
4%10
5
Hazle16 mi away
3%7
6
Philadelphia78.3 mi away
2%6
7
Foster9.6 mi away
2%6
8
Mahoning23.6 mi away
2%6
9
Frackville0.8 mi away
2%5
10
Upper Macungie34.5 mi away
2%5
Everywhere elseother towns and states
59%157
The top trips

Where Altamont clocks in

Lines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.

Day and night

Altamont quiets down on a workday

On a workday 264 residents head out to work, 1 work right here, and 39 people come in from elsewhere.

264live here, work elsewhere
1live and work here
39work here, live elsewhere
Night and day
At night530
Workday300
530live here− 260head out to work+ 39come in to work= 300on a workday

About 300 people are in Altamont on a workday afternoon, 43% fewer than live here.

Job hub or commuter town?
0.15jobs per workerCommuter townJob hub

0.15 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.

How far

Half of Altamont commutes less than 17 miles

Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

10 mi25 mi50 mi80 miShenandoah: 11% · 2.4 miPottsville: 7% · 7.3 miWest Mahanoy: 6% · 1.6 miCass: 4% · 5.6 miHazle: 3% · 16 miPhiladelphia: 2% · 78.3 miFoster: 2% · 9.6 miMahoning: 2% · 23.6 miFrackville: 2% · 0.8 miUpper Macungie: 2% · 34.5 miShenandoah 11%Pottsville 7%West Mahanoy 6%Cass 4%Hazle 3%Altamont
AltamontTop destinations (size = commuters)
39%Under 10 mi104 residents
20%10–24 mi54 residents
21%25–50 mi55 residents
20%Over 50 mi52 residents

About 20% 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.

The jobs

70% of the jobs in Altamont pay over $3,333 a month

40 jobs are based in Altamont. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Altamont’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in AltamontJobs Altamont residents hold

What kind of work

Goods: factories, building, farms18%20%
Trade, transport & utilities83%27%
Services: health, schools, offices0%53%

What it pays

$1,250 a month or less15%12%
$1,251–$3,333 a month15%22%
Over $3,333 a month70%66%

Who does it

29 or younger8%18%
30 to 5460%51%
55 and older33%31%
−62%

Jobs based in Altamont, 2013 → 2023: 105 → 40. 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.

Time on the road

About 23 minutes each way, quicker than most of Pennsylvania

From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.

A year of commuting
173 hours

Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.2 full days in the car, bus or train.

Average commute minutes, one way

Altamont23 min
Pennsylvania26 min
U.S.26 min
Working from home
3%

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

About 0 in 10
Next door

Altamont and the towns next door

The biggest share goes to West Mahanoy (6%). Darker towns draw more of Altamont’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.

10%+5–9%2–4%1%Under 1%

Average commute minutes, one way

West Mahanoy22 min
Altamont23 min
Frackville25 min
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Every worker, home to work. The Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.
  • Where the employer says. A job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.
  • Two surveys. Flows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: the Census American Community Survey.
  • Straight lines. Distances are as the crow flies between home and work. Roads, rivers and traffic make the real trip longer.
Beyond the commute

More of Altamont

Altamont home →

Commuter talk

Getting to work from Altamont, from the people who make the trip.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is the commute from Altamont worth it?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Ask neighbors

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.

Post to Altamont

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in