The 10 Best Places To Buy A House In Pennsylvania For 2022


Using science and data, we can tell you which places in Pennsylvania have seen home prices rising and people flocking over the past year.

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Editor’s note: This is not investment advice and we are not financial advisers. Article updated for 2022.

There's a the age old question everyone thinks about when they decide to move to a city in Pennsylvania:

Should I buy a place or rent? Well, we aren't here today to solve that problem for you exactly. We are just assuming you'll do the right thing and a buy a place. And while we are happy to tell you the best place to live in Pennsylvania, this analysis is going to tackle the question of the best place to buy a house as an investor. That is we are going to try and determine the up and coming cities in the Keystone State.

To do that we are going to look at places in Pennsylvania that are growing faster than average, but where home prices are below average. In every day terms, the "deals". The best deal in Pennsylvania at the moment? That would be Swoyersville according to our analysis.

Here's a look at the top ten places to buy a home in Pennsylvania for 2022.

The 10 Best Places To Buy A Home In Pennsylvania For 2022

  1. Swoyersville
  2. Olyphant
  3. Kut
  4. Fox Chapel
  5. Collegeville
  6. Schuylkill Haven
  7. Birdsboro
  8. Turtle Creek
  9. Tyrone
  10. Titusville

What's the best place to buy a home in Pennsylvania for 2022? According to our analysis, would the the ideal place to buy a home looking into the future.

The methodology that wen't into this can be a bit complicated, so we'll break it down for you in as much detail as we can below. If you're not worried about finding a deal on good places to live, check out the most expensive places to live in Pennsylvania and, for those of you on a budget, the cheapest places to live in Pennsylvania.

For more Pennsylvania reading, check out:

The 10 Best Cities To Buy A House In Pennsylvania For 2022

1. Swoyersville

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,031
Median Home Price: $121,700
Population Change: 0.3%
Home Price Change: -3.0%
More on Swoyersville: Homes For Sale | Data

2. Olyphant

Olyphant, PA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,037
Median Home Price: $137,300
Population Change: -0.5%
Home Price Change: 7.4%
More on Olyphant: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

3. Kut

Source: Public Domain
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,051
Median Home Price: $169,800
Population Change: 0.2%
Home Price Change: 1.9%
More on Kut: Homes For Sale | Data

4. Fox Chapel

Fox Chapel, PA

Source: Wikipedia User Brastins | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,104
Median Home Price: $701,600
Population Change: -0.3%
Home Price Change: 5.9%
More on Fox Chapel: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

5. Collegeville

Collegeville, PA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 5,105
Median Home Price: $312,100
Population Change: -0.9%
Home Price Change: -6.9%
More on Collegeville: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

6. Schuylkill Haven

Schuylkill Haven, PA

Source: Wikipedia User Doug Kerr from Albany, NY | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,137
Median Home Price: $89,700
Population Change: -0.8%
Home Price Change: -4.1%
More on Schuylkill Haven: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

7. Birdsboro

Birdsboro, PA

Source: Wikipedia User US Census, Ruhrfisch | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,141
Median Home Price: $170,000
Population Change: 0.2%
Home Price Change: 4.0%
More on Birdsboro: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

8. Turtle Creek

Turtle Creek, PA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,161
Median Home Price: $54,800
Population Change: -0.7%
Home Price Change: -4.0%
More on Turtle Creek: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

9. Tyrone

Tyrone, PA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,182
Median Home Price: $99,300
Population Change: -0.7%
Home Price Change: 3.5%
More on Tyrone: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

10. Titusville

Titusville, PA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

4
/10

Population: 5,200
Median Home Price: $68,600
Population Change: -1.2%
Home Price Change: -4.9%
More on Titusville: Photos | Homes For Sale | Data

Methodology: How do you determine the best places to buy a home in Pennsylvania for 2022?

We were in real estate for almost five years and have been working on this site for another three. Suffice is to say, we've put a lot of thought into what goes into finding a good place to buy a home.

So all that thinking has come to this moment where we get to spell out how we'd approach finding an up-and-coming place to live in Pennsylvania. Put differently, the analysis will try to find places in Pennsylvania with undervalued homes relative to pent up demand.

Best Places To Raise A Family In Pennsylvania

To do that we looked at the most recent American Community Survey Census data for 2016-2020 and compared it to the previous vintage (2012-2016). Specifically, we used the following criteria:

  • Y-o-Y Change In Population (People want to live here)
  • Y-o-Y Change In Median Home Prices (People are willing to pay for it)
  • Home Prices Relative To The State Average (It's still kinda cheap)

We want places that are growing, have seen home prices increase in recent years, and are still "cheap" for Pennsylvania with the following caveats:

So of the 0 cities and towns in Pennsylvania, only 186 places made it through our initial filters to even be considered.

We then ranked each place from 1 to 186 for the criteria mentioned above with 1 being the best for that criteria. We averaged the rankings to create a "best place to buy" index with the place having the lowest index being the best. You can download the data here.

Turns out that Swoyersville is the best potential gem in the not-so-rough in the Keystone State.

Read on for more on these places.

Summary: The Best Places To Purchase A House In Pennsylvania for 2022

There's our analysis of the best places to buy a house in Pennsylvania. And, to be clear, we aren't necessarily saying these places are the best places to live, just that it looks like they might be in a couple of years based on the data.

In fact, every place in the following table meets our criteria, so even though it may not look super long, remember we started off with all 0 places in the state.

So if we'd could rent or buy in these cities, we'd definitely buy.

For more Pennsylvania reading, check out:

Home Prices By City In Pennsylvania

City Rank Median Home Price Population Change Home Price Increase
Swoyersville 1 $121,700 0.3% -3.0%
Olyphant 2 $137,300 -0.5% 7.4%
Kut 3 $169,800 0.2% 1.9%
Fox Chapel 4 $701,600 -0.3% 5.9%
Collegeville 5 $312,100 -0.9% -6.9%
Schuylkill Haven 6 $89,700 -0.8% -4.1%
Birdsboro 7 $170,000 0.2% 4.0%
Turtle Creek 8 $54,800 -0.7% -4.0%
Tyrone 9 $99,300 -0.7% 3.5%
Titusville 10 $68,600 -1.2% -4.9%
Bangor 11 $147,000 0.4% -8.6%
Lehighton 12 $120,100 0.0% 5.2%
Shillington 13 $151,600 0.1% 5.5%
Palmerton 14 $118,900 0.1% 1.1%
Greenville 15 $74,200 -2.1% 0.7%
Sayre 16 $126,700 -0.9% -3.6%
Coraopolis 17 $94,500 -0.7% -0.2%
Monaca 18 $119,700 -1.0% -1.9%
New Holland 19 $192,800 0.4% -5.1%
Stroudsburg 20 $153,100 0.3% -5.2%
Duquesne 21 $45,200 -0.2% 6.1%
Exeter 22 $120,000 -0.2% 2.7%
Oxford 23 $220,800 0.8% 2.6%
Edinboro 24 $166,500 -3.4% 0.4%
Shippensburg 25 $126,600 -0.7% -19.2%
Clarion 26 $130,700 1.3% 5.2%
Media 27 $339,600 3.1% 2.5%
Mount Carmel 28 $45,300 0.1% 4.4%
Hollidaysburg 29 $165,800 -0.5% 4.1%
Sharon Hill 30 $115,300 -0.1% -3.4%
Nazareth 31 $186,600 0.1% -4.1%
Lewisburg 32 $206,400 0.1% 3.0%
New Brighton 33 $78,300 -0.8% 7.1%
Punxsutawney 34 $87,600 -0.4% 4.7%
Moosic 35 $179,500 0.2% 8.1%
Dickson City 36 $144,000 -0.4% 1.8%
Plymouth 37 $67,700 -0.7% -6.1%
Crafton 38 $148,500 -0.5% 0.4%
Helle 39 $185,100 0.1% -0.2%
Clearfield 40 $83,100 -0.7% -2.0%
Somerset 41 $111,200 -0.9% -1.3%
Mckees Rocks 42 $53,000 -0.5% 2.3%
Selinsgrove 43 $158,100 -0.1% 2.3%
Taylor 44 $133,500 -0.5% 6.0%
Norwood 45 $172,800 1.1% 2.9%
Steelton 46 $91,100 0.2% 2.8%
Franklin 47 $90,900 -0.9% 5.9%
South Williamsport 48 $150,500 -0.3% 5.8%
Kennett Square 49 $266,100 -0.1% 1.1%
Blakely 50 $149,000 -0.4% -7.3%
Bellefonte 51 $193,600 -0.1% 1.0%
Corry 52 $78,700 -0.7% -11.6%
California 53 $111,300 -0.6% -2.5%
Forest Hills 54 $129,300 -0.7% -0.6%
Red Lion 55 $122,400 0.2% 2.4%
Swarthmore 56 $437,700 0.3% 5.4%
Ambler 57 $299,300 0.1% -1.4%
Prospect Park 58 $198,600 0.2% 3.6%
Oakmont 59 $238,700 0.4% 15.8%
West View 60 $138,800 -0.8% 4.8%
Milton 61 $134,100 -2.1% 2.0%
Clairton 62 $46,500 -0.7% 7.6%
Catasauqua 63 $167,400 0.4% 12.8%
Folcroft 64 $112,900 0.0% -1.1%
Ambridge 65 $75,700 -0.7% 6.0%
Tamaqua 66 $62,100 -0.5% -1.1%
Clifton Heights 67 $145,200 0.1% 15.0%
Huntingdon 68 $135,100 -0.4% 15.5%
Archbald 69 $170,700 0.2% -2.3%
Shamokin 70 $42,300 -0.6% 15.3%
Souderton 71 $235,300 0.8% 3.2%
Ridley Park 72 $210,400 -0.1% 4.2%
Glenolden 73 $160,600 -0.9% 0.9%
Monessen 74 $76,900 -0.8% 0.8%
New Cumberland 75 $177,400 -0.1% 4.5%
Dubois 76 $97,300 -0.7% 4.2%
Connellsville 77 $104,200 0.0% 1.9%
Ellwood City 78 $101,400 -3.2% 3.8%
Hatboro 79 $268,400 0.1% 2.7%
White Oak 80 $116,500 -0.9% 8.9%
Palmyra 81 $153,100 0.1% 2.7%
Gettysburg 82 $199,100 -0.1% -12.4%
Pittston 83 $89,900 -0.5% -2.7%
Wilson 84 $148,300 0.2% 14.2%
Grove City 85 $135,300 -1.5% 7.0%
Carnegie 86 $131,700 -0.6% 6.5%
Old Forge 87 $145,600 -0.7% -2.0%
Camp Hill 88 $221,400 0.2% 4.1%
Downin 89 $253,100 1.1% 4.3%
Conshohocken 90 $339,300 0.1% 10.6%
Brookhaven 91 $209,400 0.1% 4.3%
Pleasant Hills 92 $178,100 -0.5% 6.7%
Bellevue 93 $133,300 -0.7% 9.3%
Lewi 94 $72,000 -0.5% -3.5%
Mount Joy 95 $182,100 0.5% 1.3%
Castle Shannon 96 $134,500 0.4% 7.2%
Doyle 97 $405,500 -0.0% -0.6%
Bradford 98 $61,700 -0.8% 8.6%
Millersville 99 $181,100 -0.2% 3.4%
Dormont 100 $154,500 -0.5% 4.7%
Download The Entire Pennsylvania Ranking Data

How Is The Area In ?

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.

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