Best places to live in Pennsylvania
3 Pennsylvania metros scored on the default family weighting — schools and safety heaviest, then affordability, climate, college pipeline and jobs. Change the weights on the ranking engine to see your own order.
Who lives in Pennsylvania
Population-weighted racial and ethnic composition across the 3 tracked Pennsylvania metros, from Census ACS table B03002.
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 66.1%
- Hispanic or Latino
- 8.6%
- Black (non-Hispanic)
- 15.5%
- Asian (non-Hispanic)
- 5.2%
- Other or two or more
- 4.6%
Diversity index 63/100 — how evenly the population is spread across these groups. It is descriptive, not a judgement: weight it up, down or to zero on the ranking engine.
| # | Metro | Score | US rank | Typical home | Schools | Safety | Climate | Diversity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia | 61.0 | #12 of 103 | $392k | 25 | 70 | 25° / 87° | 75 |
| 2 | Pittsburgh | 57.4 | #29 of 103 | $232k | 20 | 70 | 21° / 82° | 38 |
| 3 | Lancaster | 55.1 | #39 of 103 | $390k | 20 | 70 | 22° / 85° | 45 |
Figures are compiled estimates. Methodology and sources.