Explore Jobs

Find Specific Jobs

Explore Careers

Explore Professions

Best Companies

Explore Companies

These Are The 10 Worst Places In Pennsylvania To Get A Job

By Chris Kolmar
Mar. 21, 2016

Find a Job You Really Want In

.street-view{width:100%;height:300px;pointer-events:none;}

Swipe left for slideshow. Article continues below.

We’re on a mission at Zippia to criss-cross the country looking for the best and worst places for jobs.

Today, we set our sites on the worst cities to find a job in Pennsylvania after looking at the best places in Pennsylvania a short while ago.

These cities did not have the grit needed to make it to the big leagues and get that big promotion we all hope to get.

After looking at the data for the 100 biggest cities in Pennsylvania, the ten worst cities to find a job in the Keystone State are:

  1. Hazleton
  2. Reading
  3. Scranton
  4. Allentown
  5. Chester
  6. Johnstown
  7. Easton
  8. Bethlehem
  9. New Castle
  10. Altoona

Read on to see how we did it.

How We Determined The Worst Places For Jobs In The Keystone State

After getting the data for every place in Pennsylvania, we ultimately decided to limit our analysis to the biggest places with over 5,000 people.

That left us with 100 cities.

We then ranked each place across a number of criteria from one to 100, with 1 being the worst in any given category.

Finally, we took the average rank across all criteria, with the place posting the lowest overall score gaining the title “Worst City In Pennsylvania To Find A Job”.

The criteria we looked at were:

1. Hazleton

Population: 25,166Recent Job Growth: -0.05%
Future Job Growth: 29.10%

2. Reading

Population: 87,926Recent Job Growth: 0.70%
Future Job Growth: 33.60%

3. Scranton

Population: 76,021Recent Job Growth: -0.05%
Future Job Growth: 33.20%

4. Allentown

Population: 117,942Recent Job Growth: 0.69%
Future Job Growth: 34.10%

5. Chester

Population: 34,127Recent Job Growth: 1.44%
Future Job Growth: 34.00%

6. Johnstown

Population: 20,976Recent Job Growth: 1.01%
Future Job Growth: 35.10%

7. Easton

Population: 26,885Recent Job Growth: 0.69%
Future Job Growth: 35.00%

8. Bethlehem

Population: 75,016Recent Job Growth: 0.69%
Future Job Growth: 35.10%

9. New Castle

Population: 23,290Recent Job Growth: 1.34%
Future Job Growth: 36.00%

10. Altoona

Population: 46,434Recent Job Growth: 0.62%
Future Job Growth: 35.90%

Wrapping It Up With Friday Night Drinks

After crunching all the numbers, Hazleton took the “top” spot as the worst city in Pennsylvania for a job.

So while the economy continues to improve and jobs become available across the state of Pennsylvania, these cities lag behind.

Hopefully they can catch up before they miss their next bonus.

Detailed List Of Worst Places In Pennsylvania To Get A Job

City Rank Population Recent Job Growth Future Job Growth
hazleton 1 25,166 -0.05% 29.10%
reading 2 87,926 0.70% 33.60%
scranton 3 76,021 -0.05% 33.20%
allentown 4 117,942 0.69% 34.10%
chester 5 34,127 1.44% 34.00%
johnstown 6 20,976 1.01% 35.10%
easton 7 26,885 0.69% 35.00%
bethlehem 8 75,016 0.69% 35.10%
new castle 9 23,290 1.34% 36.00%
altoona 10 46,434 0.62% 35.90%
philadelphia 11 1,525,811 1.44% 36.10%
coolbaugh township 12 20,450 0.99% 35.30%
middle smithfield township 13 15,880 0.99% 35.30%
hermitage 14 16,252 0.74% 36.30%
norristown 15 34,217 1.44% 37.10%
chestnuthill township 16 17,102 0.99% 35.30%
chambersburg 17 20,217 0.09% 35.70%
muhlenberg township 18 19,586 0.70% 36.40%
palmer township 19 20,565 0.69% 35.90%
dover township 20 21,024 0.93% 37.20%
greene township franklin 21 16,704 0.09% 35.70%
mckeesport 22 19,877 1.45% 36.70%
north whitehall township 23 15,759 0.69% 36.00%
bensalem township 24 60,451 1.44% 37.50%
bethlehem township 25 23,725 0.69% 35.90%
pittsburgh 26 306,430 1.44% 38.10%
ridley township 27 30,822 1.44% 37.60%
exeter township berks 28 25,432 0.70% 36.40%
lancaster 29 59,205 1.72% 37.50%
erie 30 101,454 1.86% 37.70%
drexel hill 31 27,657 1.44% 37.80%
lebanon 32 25,495 2.58% 38.00%
bristol township 33 54,691 1.44% 38.20%
hempfield township westmoreland 34 43,134 1.44% 38.20%
manchester township york 35 17,970 0.93% 37.20%
harrisburg 36 49,401 2.34% 38.20%
marple township 37 23,452 1.44% 37.80%
levittown 38 52,145 1.44% 38.20%
fairview township york 39 16,662 0.93% 37.20%
falls township bucks 40 34,367 1.44% 38.20%
penn hills township 41 42,425 1.44% 38.40%
aston township 42 16,641 1.44% 37.80%
concord township delaware 43 16,974 1.44% 37.80%
middletown township delaware 44 15,831 1.44% 37.80%
millcreek township erie 45 53,532 1.86% 38.30%
middletown township bucks 46 45,477 1.44% 38.20%
peters township washington 47 21,141 1.44% 38.00%
penn township westmoreland 48 19,945 1.44% 38.20%
baldwin 49 19,723 1.44% 38.40%
ross township allegheny 50 31,101 1.44% 38.40%
monroeville municipality 51 28,322 1.44% 38.40%
harborcreek township 52 17,140 1.86% 38.30%
lower southampton township 53 19,015 1.44% 38.20%
lower macungie township 54 30,345 0.69% 37.80%
pottstown 55 22,388 1.44% 38.60%
murrysville municipality 56 20,075 1.44% 38.20%
northampton township bucks 57 39,783 1.44% 38.20%
scott township allegheny 58 17,001 1.44% 38.40%
moon township 59 24,231 1.44% 38.40%
buckingham township bucks 60 20,011 1.44% 38.20%
cheltenham township 61 36,806 1.44% 38.40%
mount lebanon township 62 33,013 1.44% 38.40%
newtown township bucks 63 19,332 1.44% 38.20%
butler township butler 64 17,241 1.44% 38.60%
allison park 65 22,098 1.44% 38.40%
doylestown township 66 17,608 1.44% 38.20%
plum 67 27,147 1.44% 38.60%
lansdale 68 16,278 1.44% 38.60%
hampton township 69 18,302 1.44% 38.40%
abington township montgomery 70 55,395 1.44% 38.60%
king of prussia 71 20,129 1.44% 38.60%
horsham township 72 26,107 1.44% 38.50%
hatfield township 73 17,286 1.44% 38.60%
shaler township 74 28,742 1.44% 38.90%
plymouth township montgomery 75 16,506 1.44% 38.60%
lancaster township lancaster 76 16,307 1.72% 39.40%
east lampeter township 77 16,365 1.72% 39.40%
derry township dauphin 78 24,551 2.34% 40.10%
phoenixville 79 16,430 1.44% 39.10%
montgomery township montgomery 80 24,821 1.44% 38.60%
north huntingdon township 81 30,595 1.45% 38.80%
limerick township 82 17,993 1.44% 38.60%
manor township lancaster 83 19,606 1.72% 39.40%
carlisle 84 18,727 2.34% 40.80%
manheim township lancaster 85 38,133 1.72% 39.40%
bethel park municipality 86 32,285 1.44% 39.40%
east goshen township 87 18,076 1.44% 39.10%
lower providence township 88 25,329 1.44% 38.80%
east hempfield township 89 23,521 1.72% 39.40%
lower allen township 90 17,953 2.34% 40.80%
east pennsboro township 91 20,387 2.34% 40.80%
lower paxton township 92 47,312 2.34% 40.70%
ferguson township centre 93 17,552 2.70% 41.90%
radnor township 94 31,459 1.45% 38.90%
haverford township 95 48,560 1.44% 39.20%
mccandless township 96 28,516 1.44% 39.60%
lower makefield township 97 32,630 1.44% 39.40%
cranberry township butler 98 28,135 1.44% 39.80%
lower merion township 99 57,967 1.44% 39.70%
hampden township 100 27,803 2.34% 41.70%
Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

Responsive Image

Related posts