Your motto will soon be ‘goodbye tension, hello pension’ if you decide to call Pennsylvania home for your retirement years.
Pennsylvania is one of 37 states that does not tax Social Security and one of nine states that does not have an income tax. It is considered one of the most “tax-friendly” states in America, and this is why it is one of the best states to retire in the country.
There are some places, however, in the Keystone State that are better than others for retirees, and we’re here to tell you where the best places to retire in Pennsylvania for 2026
How’d we determine the best places to retire in Pennsylvania? To identify Pennsylvania’s top ten, we consulted the numbers. In total, we analyzed 53 cities. We looked at important factors like cost of living, crime, amenities, rent, and distance to the closest airport for every place with over 10,000 residents.
You’ll find the majority of Pennsylvania’s best places to retire located close to the state’s biggest cities, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Additionally, many of Pennsylvania’s best places to retire are also some of the state’s safest.
$644 median rent · $37,888 median income · #1 cheapest rent in Pennsylvania
Located in
Cambria County, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, 43 miles west-southwest of Altoona and 67 miles east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census and estimated to be 20,402 in 2013. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$1,174 median rent · $90,762 median income · #36 cheapest rent in Pennsylvania
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
$792 median rent · $57,462 median income · #6 cheapest rent in Pennsylvania
Located in
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Nanticoke is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,465, making it the third largest city in Luzerne County. It occupies 3.5 square miles of land. The city can be divided into several sections: Honey Pot, Downtown, and Hanover Section. It was once an active coal mining community. Today, the 167-acre main campus of Luzerne County Community College is located within the city.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$915 median rent · $89,404 median income · #19 cheapest rent in Pennsylvania
Located in
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$839 median rent · $64,914 median income · #12 cheapest rent in Pennsylvania
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
$797 median rent · $49,800 median income · #7 cheapest rent in Pennsylvania
Located in
Columbia County, Pennsylvania
Berwick is a borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States, 28 miles southwest of Wilkes Barre. As of the 2010 census, Berwick had a population of 10,477. It is one of the two principal communities of the Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Columbia and Montour counties, and had a combined population of 85,562 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$751 median rent · $49,063 median income · #3 cheapest rent in Pennsylvania
Located in
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
New Kensington, known locally as New Ken, is a city in Westmoreland County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, situated along the Allegheny River 18 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. The population was 13,116 at the 2010 Census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$741 median rent · $42,219 median income · #2 cheapest rent in Pennsylvania
Located in
Lawrence County, Pennsylvania
New Castle is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States, 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh and near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border just 18 miles east of Youngstown, Ohio. The population was 23,128 as of the 2010 census. It is the commercial center of a fertile agricultural region.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$780 median rent · $52,517 median income · #4 cheapest rent in Pennsylvania
Located in
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Munhall is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on the west bank of the Monongahela River, 8 miles south of the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers where the Ohio River begins. It abuts the borough of Homestead. A large part of the Homestead Works of the Carnegie Steel Company existed in Munhall. Steel products were the only items made in Munhall in 1910 when 5,185 people lived here. In 1940, 13,900 people lived in Munhall. The population was 11,406 at the 2010 census. Munhall, along with the boroughs of Homestead and West Homestead, are served by the Steel Valley School District.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$1,389 median rent · $83,917 median income · #46 cheapest rent in Pennsylvania
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
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 to retire in Pennsylvania
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Places To Retire In the Keystone State for 2026
To create our ranking of the best places in Pennsylvania to retire, we used Saturday Night Science. We analyzed Census data to find all places in the Keystone State — 1752 cities and towns.
We then narrowed it down to places with at least 10,000 people that weren’t townships. This left us with 53 places from across the state.
For these 53, we looked at the following criteria taken from the Census, the FBI’s Crime Report, National Weather Service, and OpenFlights:
- Low cost of living as measured by rent
- Low crime
- Things to do (Museums, Colleges, and Libraries in town)
- Nice weather
- Distance to the closest international airport
- Other retirees (High median age)
We then ranked each of these places for each criterion from one to 53, with the lowest number being the best.
Finally, we took the average rank across these criteria. The place, in this case Johnstown, with the lowest average rank, was crowned the best of the best, a place for you to start your second career.
The report has been updated for 2026. This list reflects our eleventh time ranking the best places to retire in Pennsylvania.
The full plate
Best Places To Retire In Pennsylvania
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Retire Score | Population | Median Income | Average Home Prices | Median Rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnstown | 16.00 | 18,087 | $37,888 | $86,108 | $644 |
| 2 | Northampton | 16.60 | 10,400 | $90,762 | $345,140 | $1,174 |
| 3 | Nanticoke | 17.40 | 10,653 | $57,462 | $164,941 | $792 |
| 4 | Whitehall | 18.40 | 14,811 | $89,404 | $262,406 | $915 |
| 5 | Greensburg | 19.00 | 14,741 | $64,914 | $238,469 | $839 |
| 6 | Berwick | 19.70 | 10,317 | $49,800 | $203,642 | $797 |
| 7 | New Kensington | 19.80 | 12,011 | $49,063 | $169,954 | $751 |
| 8 | New Castle | 20.70 | 21,579 | $42,219 | $144,556 | $741 |
| 9 | Munhall | 20.70 | 10,548 | $52,517 | $147,110 | $780 |
| 10 | Emmaus | 21.10 | 11,889 | $83,917 | $385,740 | $1,389 |
| 11 | Pottsville | 21.20 | 13,364 | $54,332 | $151,259 | $822 |
| 12 | Scranton | 21.50 | 76,033 | $50,739 | $181,950 | $1,048 |
| 13 | Lower Burrell | 21.90 | 11,633 | $84,602 | $200,396 | $911 |
| 14 | Butler | 22.90 | 13,212 | $44,247 | $235,361 | $818 |
| 15 | Columbia | 23.00 | 10,278 | $54,437 | $290,830 | $1,075 |
| 16 | Erie | 23.90 | 93,850 | $46,113 | $198,492 | $870 |
| 17 | Lansdowne | 24.50 | 11,122 | $73,232 | $277,114 | $1,304 |
| 18 | Lebanon | 24.70 | 26,536 | $48,456 | $285,427 | $992 |
| 19 | Kingston | 24.90 | 13,397 | $55,347 | $220,513 | $1,038 |
| 20 | Carlisle | 25.20 | 21,852 | $61,720 | $329,620 | $1,094 |
| 21 | Plum | 25.30 | 26,723 | $98,705 | $252,851 | $1,177 |
| 22 | Bethlehem | 25.50 | 77,956 | $68,879 | $351,353 | $1,382 |
| 23 | Yeadon | 25.50 | 12,181 | $49,759 | $228,207 | $1,213 |
| 24 | Sharon | 25.70 | 12,936 | $45,670 | $72,982 | $827 |
| 25 | Hazleton | 26.20 | 30,111 | $46,177 | $212,762 | $1,089 |
| 26 | Harrisburg | 26.30 | 50,287 | $48,099 | $263,369 | $1,062 |
| 27 | West Mifflin | 26.50 | 19,190 | $76,563 | $160,812 | $780 |
| 28 | Franklin Park | 26.60 | 15,235 | $176,875 | $539,476 | $2,330 |
| 29 | Indiana | 26.60 | 14,212 | $40,857 | $192,679 | $849 |
| 30 | Meadville | 27.20 | 12,577 | $43,308 | $154,203 | $855 |
| 31 | Waynesboro | 27.40 | 11,047 | $66,956 | $275,318 | $1,086 |
| 32 | Easton | 27.70 | 29,739 | $69,348 | $371,500 | $1,325 |
| 33 | Hermitage | 27.90 | 16,041 | $70,052 | $213,565 | $896 |
| 34 | York | 28.00 | 44,938 | $48,420 | $275,648 | $1,014 |
| 35 | Wilkes-Barre | 28.80 | 44,423 | $48,515 | $172,140 | $946 |
| 36 | Chambersburg | 29.40 | 22,319 | $56,576 | $286,441 | $1,099 |
| 37 | Altoona | 29.60 | 43,196 | $51,250 | $134,583 | $819 |
| 38 | West Chester | 29.70 | 20,666 | $78,385 | $657,113 | $1,731 |
| 39 | Ephrata | 30.10 | 13,772 | $69,735 | $249,296 | $1,143 |
| 40 | Wilkinsburg | 30.50 | 14,027 | $46,416 | $172,752 | $1,025 |
| 41 | Phoenixville | 31.00 | 19,452 | $102,138 | $521,604 | $1,735 |
| 42 | McKeesport | 31.40 | 17,380 | $34,219 | $96,205 | $848 |
| 43 | Lansdale | 31.50 | 19,011 | $88,229 | $496,720 | $1,470 |
| 44 | Wyomissing | 31.90 | 11,172 | $93,203 | $377,346 | $1,781 |
| 45 | Reading | 33.50 | 95,242 | $44,091 | $260,654 | $1,067 |
| 46 | Hanover | 33.50 | 16,584 | $61,293 | $291,772 | $1,137 |
| 47 | Pittsburgh | 34.60 | 304,759 | $65,742 | $237,533 | $1,261 |
| 48 | Chester | 34.60 | 33,619 | $41,342 | $92,320 | $1,091 |
| 49 | Darby | 35.70 | 10,687 | $39,863 | $130,981 | $1,308 |
| 50 | Coatesville | 38.50 | 13,353 | $59,256 | $384,165 | $1,471 |
| 51 | Philadelphia | 39.10 | 1,579,706 | $61,953 | $231,815 | $1,397 |
| 52 | State College | 40.20 | 41,050 | $45,424 | $408,500 | $1,273 |
| 53 | Allentown | 41.90 | 125,976 | $55,494 | $309,699 | $1,317 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024, FBI UCR, OpenFlights. 53 cities with more than 10,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: Maybe You’re Not Ready To Retire In Pennsylvania Yet…
So there you have it, the best place to retire in Pennsylvania goes to Johnstown.
The best places to retire in Pennsylvania are Johnstown, Northampton, Nanticoke, Whitehall, Greensburg, Berwick, New Kensington, New Castle, Munhall, and Emmaus.
If you’re not ready to hang up your office apparel yet, then these places might be up your alley.
