Best PlacesWest Sunbury, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Sunbury, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West Sunbury ranks 17,203rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and state infrastructure ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Sunbury
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.
West Sunbury's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Sunbury ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 98% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 81% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 73% of towns
Where West Sunbury ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 19% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 21% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 27% of towns
- Cheap childcare$960 a month, better than only 27% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 28% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Sunbury
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Sunbury home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,696, 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 West Sunbury's effective rate of 0.93%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Sunbury
West Sunbury runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Sunbury.
Who works in West Sunbury, and how
Work in West Sunbury centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in West Sunbury
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Sunbury.
What the weather is like in West Sunbury, month by month
West Sunbury sees roughly 73 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 West Sunbury
Pittsburgh International sits about 40 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.8 million passengers in 2025, with 104 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around West Sunbury
Schools across West Sunbury average a B, better than 72% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Center Twp SchA · 62% proficient
- Dassa Mckinney El SchA− · 61% proficient
- Youngsville El SchA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Butler Area IhsB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Butler Area ShsA− · 60% proficient
- Karns City HsB · 46% proficient
- Moniteau JshsB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Sunbury school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Sunbury 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 West Sunbury against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Sunbury
Is West Sunbury a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Sunbury ranks 17,203rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low disaster risk, low crime, and heat safety, and lowest on state infrastructure and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Sunbury expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $204,308. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $72,696 median income, cost of living beats 44% of towns.
Is West Sunbury safe?
Yes, West Sunbury is safer than 92% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $151 per resident a year.
Compare West Sunbury with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Sunbury. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Sunbury 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.
West Sunbury detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Sunbury: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Sunbury: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Sunbury: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Sunbury: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Sunbury 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.