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You either have to own Dunder-Mifflin, Hershey's Chocolate, or be a descendant of President James Buchanan, to live in our top ten richest cities in Pennsylvania for 2021.
If you're looking for safe cities and neighborhoods, amazing schools, and high-end shopping, with a bank account to match, you can stop your search. There are cities in The Keystone State that have these 5-star amenities, and then some. Yes, the Commonwealth has many cities that cater to the lifestyle of the Pennsylvania rich and famous. How does one get their hand on one of these Pennsylvania cities where living your best life 'ain't no thing'? Well, a couple of things have to fall into place for you.
First off, you need to find a job that pays on average $90,000/year. Might we suggest a job in real estate in our number one richest city? The median home price in this city is currently $190,000, and is projected to rise an additional 2% this year. That's a lot of Pennsylvania cheddar, folks. Secondly, you have to be a hard worker. Unemployment rates and poverty rates in most of these affluent Pennsylvania cities hovers just above 4%.
Monetary wealth does make a city rich, but there are cities on our list that are both rich in the dollar as well as rich in amenities. Cities on our list like Perkasie provide the backdrop for fancy wine tasting, and cities like Camp Hill provide multiple outlets for the one activity that rich people like to do most: head to the spa. To see which cities top the richest cities in Pennsylvania for 2021, grab a Philly cheesesteak and a Yuengling and take a look at the list below.
Here are the 10 richest places in Pennsylvania for 2021:
It's not lost on us that there are multiple cities on our best cities to live in Pennsylvania for 2021 that are also on our richest list. Wealthy cities tend to have it all.
To narrow down the richest cities in the Quaker State, we looked at several factors: poverty rate, median household income, and unemployment rate. The cities also had to have a population of at least 5,000.
This left us with 187 cities in the 33rd largest state and the sixth most populous state in the country.
What's the weathiest place in Pennsylvania? Without further adieu, the one city that has it all on our richest cities in Pennsylvania list is Jefferson Hills.
So, if you care about living where there are great jobs and wealthy people, take a look the list below. The state with 'Virtue, Liberty, and Independence' is calling.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about Pennsylvania:
The 10 Richest Cities In Pennsylvania For 2021
1. Jefferson Hills
/10
Population: 11,200
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $93,140
Unemployment Rate: 2.3%
Poverty Rate: 3.4%
More on Jefferson Hills: Real Estate | Photos
2. Fox Chapel
/10
Population: 5,121
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 10)
Median Income: $205,987
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 1.1%
More on Fox Chapel: Real Estate | Photos
3. Economy
/10
Population: 9,182
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 1)
Median Income: $81,938
Unemployment Rate: 2.7%
Poverty Rate: 4.1%
More on Economy: Real Estate | Photos
4. Plum
/10
Population: 27,195
Rank Last Year: 8 (Up 4)
Median Income: $78,709
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Poverty Rate: 3.9%
More on Plum: Real Estate | Photos
5. Pleasant Hills
/10
Population: 8,113
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Median Income: $76,480
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%
Poverty Rate: 3.8%
More on Pleasant Hills: Real Estate | Photos
6. Kennett Square
/10
Population: 6,190
Rank Last Year: 40 (Up 34)
Median Income: $77,404
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Poverty Rate: 5.5%
More on Kennett Square: Real Estate | Photos
7. Franklin Park
/10
Population: 14,589
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 2)
Median Income: $134,688
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
Poverty Rate: 3.6%
More on Franklin Park: Real Estate | Photos
8. Forest Hills
/10
Population: 6,377
Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 6)
Median Income: $71,709
Unemployment Rate: 3.4%
Poverty Rate: 4.6%
More on Forest Hills: Real Estate | Photos
9. Camp Hill
/10
Population: 7,911
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 4)
Median Income: $87,008
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%
Poverty Rate: 7.0%
More on Camp Hill: Real Estate | Photos
10. Conshohocken
/10
Population: 8,029
Rank Last Year: 9 (Down 1)
Median Income: $87,241
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 7.0%
More on Conshohocken: Real Estate | Photos
How We Determined The Richest Places In Pennsylvania For 2021
The first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think about determining the richest places is to simply identify personal incomes. After all, rich people have really high salaries.
However, we don't believe that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the "richest places". So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2015-2019 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
- Unemployment Rate
Median household income is the most digestible way to understand how rich a place really is. The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for more people to become rich. If more people are employed, the richer the future looks.
After we collected the data for all 187 places with more than 5,000 people in Pennsylvania, we ranked each place from 1 to 187 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the richest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a "Rich Score" with the place having the lowest overall Rich Score, Jefferson Hills, crowned the "Richest City In Pennsylvania For 2021". You can download the data here.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 187 places.
There You Have It - The Wealthiest Places In Pennsylvania For 2021
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the richest places in Pennsylvania, we weren't sure what we'd encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Pennsylvania.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very top of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you're curious enough, here are the poorest cities in Pennsylvania, according to data:
Poorest: Johnstown
2nd Poorest: Duquesne
3rd Poorest: Reading
For more Pennsylvania reading, check out:
- Worst Places To Live In Pennsylvania
- Cheapest Places To Live In Pennsylvania
- Best Places To Raise A Family In Pennsylvania
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Pennsylvania
| Rank | City | RichScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jefferson Hills | 4.33 |
| 2 | Fox Chapel | 4.67 |
| 3 | Economy | 8.33 |
| 4 | Plum | 12.33 |
| 5 | Pleasant Hills | 17.0 |
| 6 | Kennett Square | 17.33 |
| 7 | Franklin Park | 17.67 |
| 8 | Forest Hills | 19.33 |
| 9 | Camp Hill | 20.0 |
| 10 | Conshohocken | 20.67 |
| 11 | Doyle | 21.33 |
| 12 | Perkasie | 22.67 |
| 13 | Lititz | 25.33 |
| 14 | Collegeville | 26.33 |
| 15 | Palmerton | 26.33 |
| 16 | Souderton | 27.0 |
| 17 | Red Lion | 29.67 |
| 18 | White Oak | 30.0 |
| 19 | Dormont | 30.33 |
| 20 | Downin | 31.0 |
| 21 | Wyomissing | 31.33 |
| 22 | Helle | 31.67 |
| 23 | Ridley Park | 32.67 |
| 24 | Oakmont | 33.0 |
| 25 | Lower Burrell | 34.67 |
| 26 | Castle Shannon | 35.33 |
| 27 | Brookhaven | 36.0 |
| 28 | Swarthmore | 36.67 |
| 29 | Brentwood | 38.0 |
| 30 | Mount Joy | 38.33 |
| 31 | Whitehall | 41.0 |
| 32 | Hatboro | 41.33 |
| 33 | Emmaus | 41.67 |
| 34 | Bellefonte | 41.67 |
| 35 | Mechanicsburg | 43.0 |
| 36 | Baldwin | 43.33 |
| 37 | Lansdale | 44.0 |
| 38 | Selinsgrove | 44.67 |
| 39 | Morrisville | 45.0 |
| 40 | Elizabet | 45.67 |
| 41 | New Holland | 46.0 |
| 42 | Northampton | 48.67 |
| 43 | Ambler | 50.67 |
| 44 | Blakely | 51.0 |
| 45 | Bristol | 51.33 |
| 46 | St. Marys | 52.33 |
| 47 | Media | 52.33 |
| 48 | Hollidaysburg | 52.33 |
| 49 | South Williamsport | 52.33 |
| 50 | Phoenixville | 54.33 |
| 51 | Grove City | 55.0 |
| 52 | Catasauqua | 55.33 |
| 53 | West View | 55.33 |
| 54 | Norwood | 57.33 |
| 55 | Exeter | 57.33 |
| 56 | Swoyersville | 57.67 |
| 57 | Birdsboro | 58.0 |
| 58 | Glenolden | 58.33 |
| 59 | Dunmore | 59.33 |
| 60 | Old Forge | 59.67 |
| 61 | Wilson | 60.0 |
| 62 | Hermitage | 62.0 |
| 63 | Dickson City | 62.67 |
| 64 | New Cumberland | 64.0 |
| 65 | Archbald | 67.0 |
| 66 | Lansdowne | 67.0 |
| 67 | Bellevue | 69.0 |
| 68 | Crafton | 69.33 |
| 69 | Moosic | 69.67 |
| 70 | Olyphant | 70.0 |
| 71 | Ephrata | 71.33 |
| 72 | Quake | 72.33 |
| 73 | Hanover | 76.0 |
| 74 | Milton | 76.67 |
| 75 | Shillington | 77.0 |
| 76 | Palmyra | 80.33 |
| 77 | Folcroft | 80.67 |
| 78 | Shippensburg | 82.0 |
| 79 | Bethlehem | 82.67 |
| 80 | Canonsburg | 83.0 |
| 81 | Stroudsburg | 84.67 |
| 82 | Chambersburg | 84.67 |
| 83 | Swissvale | 85.67 |
| 84 | Lewisburg | 88.33 |
| 85 | Carnegie | 88.67 |
| 86 | Prospect Park | 89.0 |
| 87 | Nazareth | 89.0 |
| 88 | Kingston | 89.33 |
| 89 | Sayre | 90.67 |
| 90 | Yeadon | 90.67 |
| 91 | Dubois | 91.0 |
| 92 | Easton | 91.33 |
| 93 | Plymouth | 91.67 |
| 94 | Warren | 91.67 |
| 95 | Middl | 93.33 |
| 96 | Monaca | 96.0 |
| 97 | West Chester | 96.33 |
| 98 | West Mifflin | 96.67 |
| 99 | Munhall | 96.67 |
| 100 | Ambridge | 96.67 |
This is kind of a pointless list. The most affluent area in all of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia’s Main Line Suburbs – is not even represented, I assume due to your definition of “place”. Gladwynne, Villanova, Radnor, Devon… All of these places are far more affluent than any on your list.
Uh, Mt. Lebanon comes to mind. My hometown was thought to be pretty nice too.
Umm… have you been to Pennsylvania? Conshohocken is richer than neighboring Gladwyne? What? Whoever came up with this list has no idea what they’re talking about.
I agree with the other comment, where’s Mount Lebanon, Upper Saint Clair and Peters Township????? Venetia In Peters was just listed as number one Income in the Pittsburgh area in 2019.