Best PlacesWest Chester, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in the West Chester area, 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.
West Chester ranks 8th of 445 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $138,407, wages outrun the cost of living, and good schools ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are fast internet, state infrastructure, and cell coverage.
The best neighborhoods in West Chester
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 Chester's strengths and weaknesses
West Chester ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Good schools, health care access, and civic engagement are the strongest pieces.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Fast internet, state infrastructure, and cell coverage hold the score down. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where West Chester ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 100% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than 100% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than 98% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than 96% of cities
Where West Chester ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than only 9% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 10% of cities
- BikingBetter than only 13% of cities
- Cheap childcare$1,308 a month, better than only 28% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in West Chester
A household needs to earn about $154,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Chester home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $138,407; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment and a 6.8% 30-year fixed rate. The rate updates weekly from Freddie Mac; property tax uses West Chester's effective rate against the median home value.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first ten years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Chester
West Chester'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 West Chester.
Who works in West Chester, and how
Work in West Chester centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in West Chester
West Chester has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of cities and more parkland per resident than 83% of cities. The coast is about 48 minutes away. The map and measures below show how they vary by area.
What the weather is like in West Chester, month by month
West Chester sees roughly 104 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 25. Spring and fall carry most of the comfortable stretch.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 32° | 25° |
| April | 64° | 52° | 43° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 48° |
Flying in and out of West Chester
The nearest airport, New Castle, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 20 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Chester
Schools across West Chester average an A+, better than 100% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Valley Forge El SchA+ · 98% proficient
- Pocopson El SchA+ · 98% proficient
- Penn Wood El SchA+ · 98% proficient
Top middle schools
- Valley Forge MsA+ · 90% proficient
- Tredyffrin-easttown MsA+ · 85% proficient
- Charles F Patton MsA+ · 84% proficient
Top high schools
- Downingtown Stem AcademyA+ · 98% proficient
- Unionville HsA+ · 94% proficient
- Great Valley HsA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Chester school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Chester 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 Chester against the other 444 cities.
Who West Chester suits
Families
Schools beat 100% of the country and crime runs low. Compare neighborhoods on the map for the best fit.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of cities and 24% already work from home.
Common questions about living in West Chester
Is West Chester a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Chester ranks 8th of 445 cities. It scores highest on good schools, health care access, and civic engagement, and lowest on fast internet and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Chester expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $561,077. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $138,407 median income, cost of living beats 94% of cities.
Is West Chester safe?
Yes, West Chester is safer than 92% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $212 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in West Chester?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 25. The area gets its pleasant stretches in spring and fall.
Is West Chester good for families?
Schools beat 100% of cities, and safety is best away from the urban core. Home prices are usually the catch in the strongest school areas.
Is West Chester good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 94% of cities, and internet is widely advertised, so a big-employer salary stretches further here.
Compare West Chester with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Chester. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Chester 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 Chester detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Chester: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Chester: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Chester: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Chester: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Chester 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.