Best PlacesFord City, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Ford City, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Ford City ranks 13,765th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Ford City
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.
Ford City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Ford City ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 94% of towns
- BikingBetter than 90% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 81% of towns
Where Ford City ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 19% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 27% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 33% of towns
- Household income$63,427 median, better than only 34% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Ford City
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Ford City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,427, 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 Ford City's effective rate of 1.52%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Ford City
Ford City runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Ford City.
Who works in Ford City, and how
Work in Ford City centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Ford City
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Ford City.
What the weather is like in Ford City, month by month
Ford City sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 29° | 20° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 39° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 61° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Ford City
The nearest airport, Arnold Palmer Regional, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 42 miles away.
The best schools in and around Ford City
Schools across Ford City average a B+, better than 75% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Elderton El SchA · 63% proficient
- Lenape El SchB+ · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Armstrong JshsB+ · 51% proficient
- West Shamokin JshsB · 49% proficient
- Lenape TechC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Ford City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Ford City 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 Ford City against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Ford City
Is Ford City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Ford City ranks 13,765th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on walkability, low disaster risk, and fast internet, and lowest on property taxes and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Ford City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $141,845. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $63,427 median income, cost of living beats 45% of towns.
Is Ford City safe?
Yes, Ford City is safer than 64% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $236 per resident a year.
Compare Ford City with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Ford City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Ford City 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.
Ford City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Ford City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Ford City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Ford City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Ford City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Ford City 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.
- 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.