Best PlacesPennsylvania Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Pennsylvania, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Pennsylvania ranks 20th of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. Its strengths are low disaster risk and good schools. The cost shows up in noise, the weather, and taxes.
The best neighborhoods in Pennsylvania
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 Pennsylvania
The counties of Pennsylvania, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Lehigh County, Berks County & Northampton County
Big-city amenities are closer, fewer homes sit empty, and incomes run higher.
Lancaster County, York County & Cumberland County
Crime runs lower, though streets are more car-dependent.
Philadelphia County, Montgomery County & Delaware County
Transit reaches more jobs, though homes cost more.
Allegheny County
Prices have run up less and more adults hold degrees.
Dauphin County, Lebanon County & Blair County
Biking is worse.
Centre County, Lycoming County & Northumberland County
It is quieter, though local pay stretches less far.
Luzerne County, Lackawanna County & Monroe County
Tree cover is thicker.
Erie County, Butler County & Mercer County
Commutes are shorter.
Fayette County, Washington County & Somerset County
Fewer households have young kids and health outcomes score lower.
Pennsylvania shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Pennsylvania's strengths and weaknesses
Pennsylvania lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Low disaster risk, good schools, and walkability carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Noise, the weather, and taxes hold the score down. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Pennsylvania ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of states
- School gradeB, better than 87% of states
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of states
- Healthcare accessBetter than 86% of states
- Big-city accessBetter than 81% of states
Where Pennsylvania ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 11% of states
- Nice weatherabout 69 pleasant days a year, better than only 15% of states
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of states
- Local economyBetter than only 18% of states
- State infrastructureBetter than only 19% of states
What it costs to buy a home in Pennsylvania
A household needs to earn about $80,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Pennsylvania home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,591, 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 Pennsylvania's effective rate of 1.29%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Pennsylvania.
Who works in Pennsylvania, and how
Work in Pennsylvania 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 75%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most states and less late-night activity than most states. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Pennsylvania and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Pennsylvania, month by month
Pennsylvania sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 72° | 61° | 51° |
The best schools in and around Pennsylvania
Schools across Pennsylvania average a B, better than 87% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Radnor El SchA+ · 98% proficient
- Wallingford El SchA+ · 98% proficient
- Fort Washington El SchA+ · 98% proficient
Top middle schools
- Valley Forge MsA+ · 90% proficient
- Southern Lehigh Intermediate SchA+ · 90% proficient
- Tredyffrin-easttown MsA+ · 85% proficient
Top high schools
- Peters Twp HsA+ · 100% proficient
- Central HsA+ · 98% proficient
- Downingtown Stem AcademyA+ · 98% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Pennsylvania school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania against the other 49 states.
Who Pennsylvania suits
Common questions about living in Pennsylvania
Is Pennsylvania a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Pennsylvania ranks 20th of 50 states. It scores highest on low disaster risk, good schools, and walkability, and lowest on noise and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Pennsylvania expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $287,391. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $88,591 median income, cost of living beats 63% of states.
Is Pennsylvania safe?
Pennsylvania is safer than 51% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $321 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Pennsylvania?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 27. That works out to about 69 pleasant days a year, more than 15% of states.
What are the best areas in Pennsylvania?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Lehigh County, Berks County & Northampton County, Lancaster County, York County & Cumberland County, and Philadelphia County, Montgomery County & Delaware County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Pennsylvania good for families?
Schools beat 87% of states, crime safety beats 51%, and childcare runs $978 a month.
Is Pennsylvania good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 63% of states, though advertised internet speeds beat only 26% of states. About 15% of workers already work from home.
Compare Pennsylvania with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Pennsylvania. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Pennsylvania 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.
Pennsylvania detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Pennsylvania: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Pennsylvania: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Pennsylvania: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Pennsylvania: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Pennsylvania 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.
- 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.