Where is the best place to live in Pennsylvania?
It’s not Philadelphia or Pittsburgh.
According to homesnacks.net, the best place to live for two years running is Camp Hill in Cumberland County.
According to homesnacks, Camp Hill has the 27th lowest unemployment rate and the 7th highest median income in Pennsylvania.
The median home values in Camp Hill are the 19th highest in the state and the crime rate is the 24th lowest in the state, “making Camp Hill a safe and great place to live.”
Camp Hill was also No. 1 on the 2019 list. The population there, according to homesnacks, is 7,911. The median home value is $212,900 and the unemployment rate is 3.8 percent.
Coming in at No. 6 is another central Pa. community – Lititz in Lancaster County. (Don’t you just love Lititz Springs Park and Wilbur chocolate?)
The population of Lititz is 9,288. Last year it came in at No. 2. The median home value is $189,200 and the unemployment rate is 3.9 percent.
The proposed site for Chick-fil-A in Camp Hill at the southeast corner of 32nd and Chestnut streets near the Giant Fuel station and directly across from East Trindle Road and Starbucks, 2019. Matthew Dressler | Special to PennLive
Homesnacks only looked at 170 places in Pennsylvania that have a population of more than 5,000 people. According to the company, “you need to have over 5,000 people to truly be ‘the best.’”
The study broke the ranking into three categories – best cities (population over 5,000), towns (population between 1,000 and 5,000) and small towns (population below 1,000).
The criteria they used were median home values, median income, population density, unemployment rate, commute time, crime, education levels, health insurance coverage and poverty rates.
The rest of the top 10 cities were:
- 2. Bellefonte, Centre County – median home value, $182,600; unemployment rate, 3.3 percent
- 3. Swarthmore, Delaware County – median home value, $410,100; unemployment rate, 5.8 percent
- 4. Conshohocken, Montgomery County - median home value, $293,400; unemployment rate, 3.1 percent
- 5. Collegeville, Montgomery County – median home value, $325,700; unemployment rate, 4.1 percent
- 6. Lititz, Lancaster County - median home value, $189,200; unemployment rate, 3.9 percent
- 7. Fox Chapel, Allegheny County - median home value, $622,600; unemployment rate, 4.8 percent
- 8. Franklin Park, Allegheny County – median home value, $327,200; unemployment rate, 4.3 percent
- 9. Ridley Park, Delaware County - median home value, $204,400; unemployment rate, 3.8 percent
- 10. Wyomissing, Berks County - median home value, $240,500; unemployment rate, 3.7 percent
The Sen. George Wade home at 312 N. 26th St. in Camp Hill. September 27, 2019. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com
The top ten best towns were:
1. Seven Fields, Butler County
2. Fox Chase, Philadelphia
3. Lincoln Park, Berks County
4. Colony Park, Berks County
5. Whitfield, Berks County
6. Lemont, Centre County
7. Chesterbrook, Chester County
8. Ben Avon, Allegheny County
9. Clarks Green, Lackawanna County
10. Narberth, Montgomery County
The best small towns were:
1. Ben Avon Heights, Allegheny County
2. Pennwyn, Berks County
3. Mount Gretna, Lebanon County
4. Glen Osborne, Allegheny County
5. Rosslyn Farms, Allegheny County
6. Harleigh, Luzerne County
7. Waverly, Lackawanna County
8. Spring Ridge, Berks County
9. Rennerdale, Allegheny County
10. Thornburg, Allegheny County
And, the top three worst places to live were:
1. Johnstown, Cambria County
2. Duquesne, Allegheny County
3. McKeesport, Allegheny County
Homesnacks collects data from various sources to offer “bite-sized articles to help you understand what it’s like to live in different places across America.” The company has been “professionally ranking cities, neighborhoods, counties and states across America for over five years.”
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