Want to know where there is no shortage of rugrats to hang out with your rugrats in the Keystone State? Look here. Yes, HomeSnacks has done every parent looking to move to this Mid-Atlantic state a favor by creating a list of the best places for families in Pennsylvania for 2026 and listing them below.
And because our goal here at HomeSnacks is to look at the latest trends and provide our readers with the most current data to compile our lists, we looked at the most recent Census for places in Pennsylvania with at least 10,000. This left us with 53 Pennsylvania places that any family would be lucky to call home. We also looked at how many households have children and how close a place is to one of the state’s biggest cities. This research led us to multiple conclusions. One, there are currently 12.8 million people, 1.4 million families with 2.6 million children: that’s plenty of little people to keep your little people entertained. Secondly, if you currently live close to Pittsburgh, Lancaster, and Philadelphia, our data says that your family is living their best life.
And, folks, it’s no mystery that families are flocking to Pennsylvania because it is so safe: it’s currently one of the safer states in America. So, we are not at all surprised that many of Pennsylvania’s best places for families are also the state’s safest.
More importantly, if you’re looking for places in Pennsylvania with lots of kiddos, safe neighborhoods and schools, and boatloads of fun, keep reading.
$83,917 median income · 32.6% households with kids
Located in
Lehigh County, Pennsylvania
Emmaus is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is located 5 miles southwest of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state. It also lies 50 miles north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s largest city, and 20 miles west of the Delaware River. Emmaus is located in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the New York City-Newark, New Jersey, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$64,914 median income · 18.1% households with kids
Located in
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city lies within the Laurel Highlands and the ecoregion of the Western Allegheny Plateau. The city is named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. The population was 14,892 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$176,875 median income · 41.6% households with kids
Located in
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Franklin Park is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,470 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$102,138 median income · 24.0% households with kids
Located in
Chester County, Pennsylvania
Phoenixville is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States, 28 miles northwest of Philadelphia, at the junction of French Creek with the Schuylkill River. It is located in the Philadelphia Metro Area. The population is 16,440 as of the 2010 Census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$69,348 median income · 32.3% households with kids
Located in
Northampton County, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in and the seat of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city’s population was 26,800 as of the 2010 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Delaware River and the Lehigh River, roughly 55 miles north of Philadelphia and 70 miles west of New York City.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$88,229 median income · 30.7% households with kids
Located in
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Lansdale is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 28 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Early in the 20th century, its industries included agricultural implement works, a canning factory, foundries, brickyards, a silk mill, and manufacturers of cigars, stoves, shirts, rope, iron drain pipe, and glue. In 1900, 2,754 people lived here; in 1910, 3,551; and in 1940, 9,316 people were inhabitants of Lansdale. The population was 16,269 at the time of the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$98,705 median income · 30.0% households with kids
Located in
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Plum is a borough in Allegheny County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it is located northeast of the city of Pittsburgh, in what is commonly referred to as the East Hills suburbs. The population was 27,126 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$90,762 median income · 25.5% households with kids
Located in
Northampton County, Pennsylvania
Northampton is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The borough is located in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, Northampton’s population was 9,926.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$73,232 median income · 31.2% households with kids
Located in
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$78,385 median income · 13.2% households with kids
Located in
Chester County, Pennsylvania
West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The population was 18,461 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Pennsylvania’s statewide median.
Pennsylvania statewide median: $77,971
Pennsylvania statewide median: $282,736
On the map
Where Pennsylvania’s most family-friendly cities are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which place is best for families in Pennsylvania anyways?
To give you the places in Pennsylvania that are best for families, we must look at a handful of metrics. We want to measure the criteria people want in a family-friendly city utilizing Saturday Night Science.
After researching U.S. Census data produced for the state of Pennsylvania, we looked at the data for every single city in the state. We paid particular attention to:
- Crime (Both violent and property)
- Quality of local schools
- Distance to a major city without necessarily being in it
- % of households with children
- Family-friendly amenities nearby (museums, libraries, and colleges)
We then gave each city a “Family Score.”
The higher the score, the better the city is for families. We also limited our results to cities with over 10,000 people. For Pennsylvania, that meant a total of 53 cities.
We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the best cities for families in Pennsylvania.
The full plate
Best Places For Families In Pennsylvania
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price | % Households w/ Kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emmaus | 11,889 | $83,917 | $385,740 | 32.6% |
| 2 | Greensburg | 14,741 | $64,914 | $238,469 | 18.1% |
| 3 | Franklin Park | 15,235 | $176,875 | $539,476 | 41.6% |
| 4 | Phoenixville | 19,452 | $102,138 | $521,604 | 24.0% |
| 5 | Easton | 29,739 | $69,348 | $371,500 | 32.3% |
| 6 | Lansdale | 19,011 | $88,229 | $496,720 | 30.7% |
| 7 | Plum | 26,723 | $98,705 | $252,851 | 30.0% |
| 8 | Northampton | 10,400 | $90,762 | $345,140 | 25.5% |
| 9 | Lansdowne | 11,122 | $73,232 | $277,114 | 31.2% |
| 10 | West Chester | 20,666 | $78,385 | $657,113 | 13.2% |
| 11 | Whitehall | 14,811 | $89,404 | $262,406 | 21.9% |
| 12 | Indiana | 14,212 | $40,857 | $192,679 | 18.8% |
| 13 | Waynesboro | 11,047 | $66,956 | $275,318 | 32.1% |
| 14 | Wyomissing | 11,172 | $93,203 | $377,346 | 19.9% |
| 15 | Carlisle | 21,852 | $61,720 | $329,620 | 18.8% |
| 16 | Bethlehem | 77,956 | $68,879 | $351,353 | 23.6% |
| 17 | Lower Burrell | 11,633 | $84,602 | $200,396 | 26.0% |
| 18 | Berwick | 10,317 | $49,800 | $203,642 | 27.4% |
| 19 | Nanticoke | 10,653 | $57,462 | $164,941 | 28.4% |
| 20 | Ephrata | 13,772 | $69,735 | $249,296 | 27.8% |
| 21 | Munhall | 10,548 | $52,517 | $147,110 | 24.6% |
| 22 | Harrisburg | 50,287 | $48,099 | $263,369 | 26.1% |
| 23 | York | 44,938 | $48,420 | $275,648 | 31.5% |
| 24 | Chambersburg | 22,319 | $56,576 | $286,441 | 26.1% |
| 25 | New Castle | 21,579 | $42,219 | $144,556 | 26.5% |
| 26 | Meadville | 12,577 | $43,308 | $154,203 | 28.8% |
| 27 | Hazleton | 30,111 | $46,177 | $212,762 | 33.2% |
| 28 | Coatesville | 13,353 | $59,256 | $384,165 | 35.9% |
| 29 | Scranton | 76,033 | $50,739 | $181,950 | 27.3% |
| 30 | Pottsville | 13,364 | $54,332 | $151,259 | 24.2% |
| 31 | Pittsburgh | 304,759 | $65,742 | $237,533 | 17.6% |
| 32 | Butler | 13,212 | $44,247 | $235,361 | 23.1% |
| 33 | New Kensington | 12,011 | $49,063 | $169,954 | 21.5% |
| 34 | Allentown | 125,976 | $55,494 | $309,699 | 32.4% |
| 35 | Reading | 95,242 | $44,091 | $260,654 | 38.1% |
| 36 | Lebanon | 26,536 | $48,456 | $285,427 | 31.9% |
| 37 | Kingston | 13,397 | $55,347 | $220,513 | 26.7% |
| 38 | Columbia | 10,278 | $54,437 | $290,830 | 23.9% |
| 39 | Hanover | 16,584 | $61,293 | $291,772 | 27.9% |
| 40 | West Mifflin | 19,190 | $76,563 | $160,812 | 23.7% |
| 41 | Hermitage | 16,041 | $70,052 | $213,565 | 19.7% |
| 42 | Yeadon | 12,181 | $49,759 | $228,207 | 16.7% |
| 43 | Sharon | 12,936 | $45,670 | $72,982 | 24.4% |
| 44 | Wilkes-Barre | 44,423 | $48,515 | $172,140 | 29.2% |
| 45 | Erie | 93,850 | $46,113 | $198,492 | 25.4% |
| 46 | Philadelphia | 1,579,706 | $61,953 | $231,815 | 25.2% |
| 47 | Wilkinsburg | 14,027 | $46,416 | $172,752 | 18.3% |
| 48 | Altoona | 43,196 | $51,250 | $134,583 | 26.2% |
| 49 | State College | 41,050 | $45,424 | $408,500 | 13.7% |
| 50 | Darby | 10,687 | $39,863 | $130,981 | 35.8% |
| 51 | Johnstown | 18,087 | $37,888 | $86,108 | 20.7% |
| 52 | Chester | 33,619 | $41,342 | $92,320 | 29.3% |
| 53 | McKeesport | 17,380 | $34,219 | $96,205 | 26.1% |
Source: U.S. Census data via Saturday Night Science. 53 Pennsylvania cities with more than 10,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: The Best Places To Raise A Family In Pennsylvania
If you’re looking for a breakdown of cities in Pennsylvania ranked by criteria that most agree make a place a great spot for families, this is an accurate list.
The best places for families in Pennsylvania are Emmaus, Greensburg, Franklin Park, Phoenixville, Easton, Lansdale, Plum, Northampton, Lansdowne, and West Chester. Not sold on Pennsylvania? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Best Places For Families In Pennsylvania FAQs
What is the best place to raise a family in Pennsylvania?
Emmaus is the best place to raise a family in Pennsylvania for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Greensburg and Franklin Park round out the top three.
What are the best places for families in Pennsylvania?
The best Pennsylvania places to raise a family are Emmaus, Greensburg, Franklin Park, Phoenixville, Easton, Lansdale, Plum, Northampton, Lansdowne, and West Chester. We ranked all 53 cities with more than 10,000 residents.
How do you rank family-friendly cities?
Family-friendliness blends low crime, good schools, proximity to a major city, the share of households with kids, and nearby amenities. The city that balances all of it best in Pennsylvania is Emmaus.
Is Emmaus affordable for families?
The median home in Emmaus costs $385,740 against a median household income of $83,917. Statewide, the median home runs $282,736, so check the gap before you pack the minivan.
What is the toughest place to raise a family in Pennsylvania?
McKeesport lands at the bottom of the family ranking for Pennsylvania. Families make it work everywhere, but the crime, school, and income numbers stack against it there.
