County rankings
Best and Worst Counties in Pennsylvania, Ranked by Public Data
Which counties stand out in Pennsylvania, and which places come with the biggest tradeoffs? This article uses generated public-data scores to compare counties across affordability, economy, schools, safety, taxes, and peace & quiet.
Key takeaways
- Best overall county: Montour County leads the current Pennsylvania ranking with an overall score of 73.4.
- Most affordable county: Cambria County has the strongest affordability score in this state ranking.
- Strongest schools county: Chester County posts the strongest schools score in the current model.
- Safest county: Clarion County ranks highest on the Safety score among Pennsylvania counties.
- Biggest common tradeoff: Counties that scored lower in our model most often lost ground in taxes.
What the rankings show
Pennsylvania shows a more balanced spread, with several counties combining strong schools, moderate home values, and decent safety scores. The biggest tradeoffs tend to come from local tax burden, housing costs, and uneven economic performance.
The tables below are useful starting points, but the more helpful pattern is the tradeoff profile: a county can score well overall while still being expensive, tax-heavy, less quiet, or weaker in one category that matters to your household.
Pennsylvania county score snapshot
The chart shows the top overall counties in this public-data model. The cards underneath show how different priorities can produce different winners.
Best county for families
Clarion County
Family score 83.1
Best value county
Clarion County
Value score 71.0
Most affordable county
Cambria County
Affordability 93.3
Best schools county
Chester County
Schools 99.5
Safest county
Clarion County
Safety 100
Lowest taxes county
Bedford County
Taxes 64.7
Best peace & quiet county
McKean County
Peace & Quiet 88.3
Best overall counties in Pennsylvania
These are the highest-scoring counties in the state based on the current overall public-data score.
| Rank | County | Overall | Schools | Safety | Afford. | Typical home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montour County FIPS 42093 | 73.4 | 96.9 | 70.4 | 62.4 | $274,764 |
| 2 | Clarion County FIPS 42031 | 72.6 | 81.6 | 100 | 83.6 | $137,888 |
| 3 | Butler County FIPS 42019 | 72.4 | 97.7 | 65.3 | 65.3 | $309,403 |
| 4 | Cumberland County FIPS 42041 | 72.1 | 96.2 | 81 | 55.4 | $345,528 |
| 5 | Elk County FIPS 42047 | 72 | 90.9 | 70.5 | 86.4 | $135,582 |
| 6 | Somerset County FIPS 42111 | 71.5 | 91.5 | 84 | 75.3 | $173,654 |
| 7 | Union County FIPS 42119 | 71.4 | 99.1 | 79.5 | 57.5 | $288,804 |
| 8 | Washington County FIPS 42125 | 71.3 | 90.9 | 67.6 | 73.6 | $234,812 |
| 9 | Chester County FIPS 42029 | 71 | 99.5 | 100 | 41.6 | $571,120 |
| 10 | Westmoreland County FIPS 42129 | 69.9 | 96.7 | 61 | 79.6 | $203,720 |
Counties with the biggest tradeoffs in Pennsylvania
These are the lowest-scoring counties in the current model. Lower scores usually reflect tradeoffs in cost, safety, schools, taxes, local economy, or peace & quiet factors.
| Rank | County | Overall | Schools | Safety | Afford. | Typical home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia County FIPS 42101 | 31 | 3.8 | 2.7 | 57.3 | $231,821 |
| 2 | Dauphin County FIPS 42043 | 47.8 | 46.1 | 18.1 | 59.9 | $275,929 |
| 3 | Lehigh County FIPS 42077 | 49.2 | 65.4 | 43.3 | 46.1 | $358,001 |
| 4 | Fayette County FIPS 42051 | 49.9 | 32.1 | 35.9 | 83 | $143,352 |
| 5 | Carbon County FIPS 42025 | 50.1 | 47.3 | 49 | 57.8 | $262,324 |
| 6 | Luzerne County FIPS 42079 | 51.2 | 45.2 | 49.6 | 66.1 | $214,820 |
| 7 | Berks County FIPS 42011 | 52.1 | 59 | 38.4 | 59.1 | $306,726 |
| 8 | Delaware County FIPS 42045 | 53.2 | 74.7 | 45.8 | 53.2 | $362,148 |
| 9 | Lackawanna County FIPS 42069 | 53.4 | 62.7 | 43.6 | 64.4 | $219,839 |
| 10 | Forest County FIPS 42053 | 54.7 | 35.7 | 73.4 | 76.5 | $124,212 |
Best counties for families
Families usually do not just want the cheapest county. This view balances schools, safety, affordability, taxes, economy, and peace and quiet.
#1
Clarion County
Family score
83.1
Schools
81.6
Safety
100
Taxes
46.2
#2
Somerset County
Family score
81.3
Schools
91.5
Safety
84
Taxes
57.4
#3
Union County
Family score
80.3
Schools
99.1
Safety
79.5
Taxes
45.9
#4
Elk County
Family score
80.1
Schools
90.9
Safety
70.5
Taxes
37.6
#5
Montour County
Family score
78.9
Schools
96.9
Safety
70.4
Taxes
49.6
#6
Centre County
Family score
78.1
Schools
98.1
Safety
88.4
Taxes
38.8
#7
Chester County
Family score
77.7
Schools
99.5
Safety
100
Taxes
30.7
#8
Fulton County
Family score
77.5
Schools
90.4
Safety
75.2
Taxes
48.6
#9
Cumberland County
Family score
77.1
Schools
96.2
Safety
81
Taxes
45.5
#10
Butler County
Family score
76.8
Schools
97.7
Safety
65.3
Taxes
47.1
Best value counties in Pennsylvania
Value blends affordability, taxes, safety, economy, and peace and quiet. It is not simply the cheapest county.
Best affordability / low-cost tradeoff
These counties rank highest on the affordability score, which can reflect home-price and income tradeoffs.
Best schools
These counties lead the current school score within this state.
Best peace & quiet
These counties score best on lower-density, quieter-living, and built-environment signals.
What the rankings suggest
Pennsylvania's highest-scoring counties average 71.8 overall and tend to stand out most in schools. The counties with the biggest tradeoffs average 49.3 overall, with the most common pressure point showing up in taxes. Use the state ranking page to compare the full list before drawing conclusions about any one county.
Explore the data
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Pennsylvania rankings
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Read next
Use this article as a quick overview, then dig into the interactive tools to compare your own shortlist. You can scan the map, search the national rankings, compare two counties side by side, or open the full Pennsylvania ranking page.
Pennsylvania state rankings
Open the full state ranking page for Pennsylvania.
National rankings
Search, filter, and sort all counties nationally.
Compare counties
Compare two counties side by side across scores and metrics.
Estimate monthly costs
Estimate monthly costs between two counties using public data and your assumptions.
Interactive map
Explore county scores geographically across the U.S.
More insights
Read data-backed relocation and county-ranking articles.
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Sources
- Best Counties to Live generated public-data county scores.
- U.S. Census ACS county population, income, housing, and affordability inputs.
- BLS unemployment data and BEA regional economic data.
- Zillow/home value data where available.
- FBI reported crime and modeled safety estimates.
- Public education data and property tax estimates used in the scoring model.