Are you sick of being a city slicker?
Do you long for life in suburban Pennsylvania? Where you can drive an overly-large vehicle to the store for groceries and schlep the kids around to practices and appointments without worrying about a parking space.
We do, too.
If you wanted to move out to the suburbs in Pennsylvania, where would you go? And how would you decide on the ranking factors to help you pick which Pennsylvania suburb was best?
No worries. We got it all figured out here using Saturday Night Science.
$176,875 median income · $539,476 median home price
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
$243,625 median income · $1,000,519 median home price
Located in
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Fox Chapel is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, and is a suburb of Pittsburgh located 6 miles northeast of downtown.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$122,721 median income · $482,552 median home price
Located in
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$152,361 median income · $467,860 median home price
Located in
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Swarthmore is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Swarthmore was originally named “Westdale” in honor of noted painter Benjamin West, who was one of the early residents of the town. The name was changed to “Swarthmore” after the establishment of Swarthmore College. “Swarthmore” can be pronounced with the first “r” either vocalized or dropped due to differences in rhotic and non-rhotic accents, but locally it is usually pronounced without the first “r”. The borough population was 6,194 as of the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$77,394 median income · $686,428 median home price
Located in
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Ambler is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is located approximately 16 miles north of the city center of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$92,782 median income · $333,787 median home price
Located in
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$80,526 median income · $246,408 median home price
Located in
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Dormont is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 8,593 at the 2010 census. Dormont is a home to a diverse population including young professionals, working families, and retirees. Dormont’s economic stability can be attributed to this diversity along with its close proximity to jobs in Downtown Pittsburgh, access to The “T”, diverse housing stock, and historically low crime rates. Dormont is mixed use and urban and features a pedestrian friendly business district, with bars, coffee shops, restaurants, and retail stores. It is famous for one of the largest municipal pools in Pennsylvania, the historic Dormont Pool. Loosely translated, Dormont means “Mountain of Gold” in French.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$89,092 median income · $632,298 median home price
The borough of Media is the county seat of Delaware County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is located 13 miles west of Philadelphia. Media was incorporated in 1850 at the same time that it was named the county seat. The population was 5,327 at the 2010 census, down from 5,533 at the 2000 census. Its school district is the Rose Tree Media School District with Penncrest High School and Springton Lake Middle School. In June 2006, it became the first fair trade town in America. Media promotes itself by its motto: “Everybody’s Hometown”.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$98,705 median income · $252,851 median home price
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
$64,071 median income · $211,413 median home price
Located in
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Castle Shannon is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population was 8,316 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 best suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we crunched the suburb numbers for the Keystone State
We have to use Saturday Night Science and look at several metrics to give you the best suburbs in Pennsylvania. We want to measure the type of place around major cities that people arguing at a bar would say makes it the “best suburb.”
First, we had to define a suburb. Using U.S. Census data produced for the state of Pennsylvania, we looked at every town with at least 5,000 residents, and within 30 miles of a city that’s over 200,000 people.
In other words, suburbs.
We paid particular attention to the following criteria:
- Median Home Values
- Median Income
- Population Density (Higher is Better)
- Unemployment Rates
- Commute Time
- Education Levels
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Poverty Rates
We ranked each suburb in Pennsylvania across these criteria from one to 68, with one being the best.
We then took the average rank across all criteria, with the town posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title “Best Suburb To Live In Pennsylvania.”
The result is some of the safest, quietest, and ideal places to live in Pennsylvania.
Read on to see why Franklin Park is the ‘burb with the most, while McKeesport is probably not the best place to live in Pennsylvania.
The full plate
The Best Suburbs In Pennsylvania
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Franklin Park | 15,235 | $176,875 | $539,476 |
| 2 | Fox Chapel | 5,246 | $243,625 | $1,000,519 |
| 3 | Conshohocken | 9,282 | $122,721 | $482,552 |
| 4 | Swarthmore | 6,550 | $152,361 | $467,860 |
| 5 | Ambler | 6,847 | $77,394 | $686,428 |
| 6 | Oakmont | 6,702 | $92,782 | $333,787 |
| 7 | Dormont | 8,063 | $80,526 | $246,408 |
| 8 | Media | 5,870 | $89,092 | $632,298 |
| 9 | Plum | 26,723 | $98,705 | $252,851 |
| 10 | Castle Shannon | 8,209 | $64,071 | $211,413 |
| 11 | Collegeville | 5,247 | $91,466 | $568,662 |
| 12 | Pleasant Hills | 8,399 | $102,167 | $265,880 |
| 13 | Phoenixville | 19,452 | $102,138 | $521,604 |
| 14 | Bridgeport | 5,174 | $82,705 | $352,990 |
| 15 | Ridley Park | 7,261 | $93,594 | $309,370 |
| 16 | Hatboro | 8,283 | $112,565 | $440,910 |
| 17 | Brookhaven | 8,331 | $91,042 | $265,657 |
| 17 | Perkasie | 9,216 | $93,845 | $512,871 |
| 19 | Economy | 9,005 | $95,313 | $278,625 |
| 20 | New Freedom | 5,066 | $120,037 | $417,281 |
| 21 | Lower Burrell | 11,633 | $84,602 | $200,396 |
| 22 | Bellevue | 8,128 | $68,827 | $236,965 |
| 23 | Canonsburg | 9,675 | $79,227 | $358,324 |
| 24 | West View | 6,533 | $84,063 | $252,296 |
| 25 | Carnegie | 7,978 | $67,656 | $224,034 |
| 26 | West Chester | 20,666 | $78,385 | $657,113 |
| 27 | Forest Hills | 6,286 | $89,688 | $222,967 |
| 28 | Lansdale | 19,011 | $88,229 | $496,720 |
| 29 | Norwood | 5,934 | $96,134 | $287,954 |
| 30 | Coraopolis | 5,417 | $63,828 | $302,086 |
| 31 | Souderton | 7,181 | $93,537 | $462,110 |
| 32 | Whitehall | 14,811 | $89,404 | $262,406 |
| 33 | Greensburg | 14,741 | $64,914 | $238,469 |
| 34 | Crafton | 5,961 | $64,006 | $208,119 |
| 35 | Jefferson Hills | 12,317 | $116,064 | $350,948 |
| 36 | Bristol | 9,902 | $76,042 | $339,367 |
| 37 | Glenolden | 7,220 | $72,786 | $241,350 |
| 38 | Monaca | 5,519 | $73,538 | $209,283 |
| 39 | Baldwin | 21,057 | $80,983 | $231,521 |
| 40 | Swissvale | 8,418 | $60,341 | $163,309 |
| 41 | Brentwood | 9,866 | $68,904 | $169,689 |
| 42 | Washington | 13,368 | $52,975 | $233,300 |
| 43 | Lansdowne | 11,122 | $73,232 | $277,114 |
| 44 | Clifton Heights | 6,832 | $70,931 | $259,887 |
| 45 | Munhall | 10,548 | $52,517 | $147,110 |
| 46 | New Brighton | 5,567 | $52,939 | $151,446 |
| 47 | White Oak | 7,468 | $59,452 | $192,181 |
| 48 | Beaver Falls | 8,850 | $49,924 | $195,209 |
| 49 | West Mifflin | 19,190 | $76,563 | $160,812 |
| 50 | New Kensington | 12,011 | $49,063 | $169,954 |
| 51 | Butler | 13,212 | $44,247 | $235,361 |
| 52 | Jeannette | 8,657 | $49,188 | $174,394 |
| 53 | Turtle Creek | 5,007 | $45,997 | $97,661 |
| 54 | Yeadon | 12,181 | $49,759 | $228,207 |
| 55 | Monessen | 6,780 | $52,889 | $80,829 |
| 56 | Sharon Hill | 6,002 | $75,130 | $192,594 |
| 57 | Ambridge | 6,890 | $51,537 | $135,994 |
| 58 | Vandergrift | 5,011 | $50,901 | $104,150 |
| 59 | Collingdale | 8,897 | $51,886 | $201,851 |
| 60 | Wilkinsburg | 14,027 | $46,416 | $172,752 |
| 61 | McKees Rocks | 5,786 | $41,131 | $193,202 |
| 62 | Aliquippa | 9,079 | $50,188 | $199,055 |
| 62 | Folcroft | 6,772 | $61,306 | $214,934 |
| 64 | Chester | 33,619 | $41,342 | $92,320 |
| 65 | Duquesne | 5,149 | $44,180 | $59,332 |
| 66 | Clairton | 6,044 | $36,538 | $157,509 |
| 67 | Darby | 10,687 | $39,863 | $130,981 |
| 68 | McKeesport | 17,380 | $34,219 | $96,205 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS via Saturday Night Science. 68 Pennsylvania suburbs within 30 miles of a city over 200,000.
Summary
Summary: There You Have It – The Best Suburbs In Pennsylvania
If you’re measuring the locations in Pennsylvania where there are lots to do, and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.
The best suburbs in Pennsylvania are Franklin Park, Fox Chapel, Conshohocken, Swarthmore, Ambler, Oakmont, Dormont, Media, Plum, and Castle Shannon.
