As the village grew into a town it variously relied upon farming and light manufacturing for its income.

The town's first settlers were a mix of eastern Pennsylvanians and newly arrived immigrants of Scotch-Irish, German and English background.

Other later industries included tile block and clay drain pipe manufacturing, aluminum ladder and specialty tool and die production, limestone mining, and underground mushroom farming.

The fire hall serves both Worthington borough and West Franklin Township.

The joint municipalities of Worthington borough and West Franklin Township (which includes the former villages of Craigsville, Yellowdog, and Laird's Crossing) have cooperated in many areas including public utilities (water and sewage), and both municipalities are often colloquially referred to as Worthington - sharing the same zip code of 16262.

The former high school is actually located outside of Worthington borough and was officially called Worthington-West Franklin Jr./Sr.

The borough extends west into the valley of Buffalo Creek, a tributary of the Allegheny River.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.69 square miles (1.8 km2), all land.