Best PlacesBradford County, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Bradford County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Bradford County ranks 1,237th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on good schools, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Bradford County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Bradford County
The parts of Bradford County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Sayre & Athens
Fewer homes sit empty, streets are more walkable, and more adults hold degrees.
Troy
It is quieter, though local pay stretches less far.
Towanda
Prices have run up more and fewer households have young kids.
Gillett
Tree cover is thicker, though disaster risk is higher.
Canton
Advertised internet is faster, though schools score lower.
Scores across Bradford County run from about the 21st to the 89th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Bradford County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Bradford County ranks high
- School gradeA−, better than 88% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 86% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 85% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 83% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 80% of counties
Where Bradford County ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 19% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 20% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 23% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than only 24% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Bradford County
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bradford County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,882, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Bradford County's effective rate of 1.07%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Bradford County
Bradford County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Bradford County.
Who works in Bradford County, and how
Work in Bradford County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Bradford County
Bradford County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Bradford County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Bradford County growing, and who is moving in?
Bradford County has lost about 4% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Binghamton, NY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Bradford County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Bradford County, month by month
Bradford County sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 28° | 18° |
| April | 62° | 47° | 34° |
| July | 87° | 72° | 58° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Bradford County
The nearest airport, Elmira/Corning Regional, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 146 miles away.
The best schools in and around Bradford County
Schools across Bradford County average an A−, better than 88% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Wyalusing Valley El SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Troy Intrmd SchA+ · 75% proficient
- Snyder El SchA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Harlan Rowe MsB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Athens Area HsA · 73% proficient
- Troy Area JshsB+ · 55% proficient
- Wyalusing Valley JshsB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Bradford County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Bradford County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Bradford County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Bradford County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Bradford County
Is Bradford County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bradford County ranks 1,237th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on good schools, clean air, and big-city access, and lowest on state infrastructure and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Bradford County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $189,733. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $68,882 median income, cost of living beats 36% of counties.
Is Bradford County safe?
Yes, Bradford County is safer than 80% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $231 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Bradford County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 38 with lows near 18. That works out to about 69 pleasant days a year, more than 20% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Bradford County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Sayre & Athens, Troy, and Towanda. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Bradford County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bradford County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bradford County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Bradford County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bradford County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bradford County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bradford County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bradford County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bradford County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.