Best PlacesWilliamstown, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Williamstown, 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.
Williamstown ranks 28,080th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Williamstown
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.
Williamstown's strengths and weaknesses
Where Williamstown ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 81% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 80% of towns
Where Williamstown ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 12% of towns
- Short commute34.8 minutes each way, better than only 14% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 18% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Williamstown
A household needs to earn about $38,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Williamstown home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,428, 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 Williamstown's effective rate of 1.12%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Williamstown
Williamstown's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Williamstown.
Who works in Williamstown, and how
Work in Williamstown centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Williamstown
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Williamstown.
What the weather is like in Williamstown, month by month
Williamstown sees roughly 67 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 31° | 22° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 64° |
| October | 69° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Williamstown
The nearest airport, Harrisburg International, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around Williamstown
Schools across Williamstown average a B+, better than 78% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Upper Dauphin Area El SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Williams Valley El SchA− · 60% proficient
- Halifax Area El SchA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Upper Dauphin Area MsB+ · 50% proficient
- Halifax Area MsC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Upper Dauphin Area HsA− · 60% proficient
- Halifax Area HsB · 50% proficient
- Williams Valley JshsB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Williamstown school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Williamstown 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 Williamstown against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Williamstown
Is Williamstown a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Williamstown ranks 28,080th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on walkability, fast internet, and big-city access, and lowest on a weak job market and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Williamstown expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $137,995. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $68,428 median income, cost of living beats 43% of towns.
Is Williamstown safe?
Williamstown is safer than 12% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $443 per resident a year.
Compare Williamstown with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Williamstown. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Williamstown 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.
Williamstown detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Williamstown: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Williamstown: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Williamstown: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Williamstown: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Williamstown 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.