The 10 Best Counties To Live In Pennsylvania For 2024


The best counties in Pennsylvania are Montgomery County and Chester County for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Some of you might be asking yourself, at this very moment, is Pennsylvania a good place?

The answer is unequivocally yes… if you know where to locate the best counties to live in Pennsylvania.

Lucky for you, we’re here to help you identify the best counties to live in the Keystone State based on the most recently available data from the Census. And this isn’t our first rodeo — we’ve been using Saturday Night Science to rank places for years.

The question becomes if you wanted to relocate to the best part of Pennsylvania, where would you go? To answer that, we looked at crime, cost of living, and demographic data for all 67 counties in the state.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Table | FAQs | Summary


Montgomery County is the county to be when it comes to living the good life in Pennsylvania. And you should avoid Philadelphia County if you can — at least according to the data.

Now you know exactly where to move in Pennsylvania. Keep on reading for more about the top ten and a detailed methodology.

Or, check out the best places to live in Pennsylvania and the cheapest places to live in Pennsylvania.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The Best Counties To Live In Pennsylvania For 2024

1. Montgomery County

Ambler, PA

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Norri
Population: 856,399
Median Income: $107,441 (3rd best)
Median Home Price: $439,249 (3rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.5% (22nd best)
More on Montgomery CountyData

2. Chester County

Coatesville, PA

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: West Chester
Population: 536,474
Median Income: $118,574 (best)
Median Home Price: $509,017 (best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.0% (12th best)
More on Chester CountyData

3. Bucks County

Bristol, PA

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Levittown
Population: 645,163
Median Income: $107,826 (2nd best)
Median Home Price: $460,050 (2nd best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.6% (24th best)
More on Bucks CountyData

4. Butler County

Butler, PA

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Butler
Population: 194,562
Median Income: $82,932 (5th best)
Median Home Price: $298,334 (10th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.7% (26th best)
More on Butler CountyData

5. Cumberland County

Camp Hill, PA

Source: Wikipedia User Jeremiah Orr | CC BY-SA 3.0

Biggest Place: Carlisle
Population: 261,269
Median Income: $82,849 (6th best)
Median Home Price: $305,102 (9th best)
Unemployment Rate: 3.7% (9th best)
More on Cumberland CountyData

6. Northampton County

Bangor, PA

Source: Wikipedia User Cishuman | CC BY-SA 4.0

Biggest Place: Bethlehem
Population: 314,299
Median Income: $82,201 (7th best)
Median Home Price: $317,275 (6th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.6% (25th best)
More on Northampton CountyData

7. Montour County

Danville, PA

Source: Wikipedia User Doug Kerr | CC BY-SA 2.0

Biggest Place: Danville
Population: 18,165
Median Income: $72,626 (17th best)
Median Home Price: $258,843 (20th best)
Unemployment Rate: 2.4% (2nd best)
More on Montour CountyData

8. Washington County

Bentleyville, PA

Source: Wikipedia User Generic1139 | CC BY 3.0

Biggest Place: Washington
Population: 209,631
Median Income: $74,403 (16th best)
Median Home Price: $210,192 (33rd best)
Unemployment Rate: 5.0% (35th best)
More on Washington CountyData

9. York County

Dillsburg, PA

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: York
Population: 457,051
Median Income: $79,183 (10th best)
Median Home Price: $269,236 (17th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.6% (23rd best)
More on York CountyData

10. Allegheny County

Baldwin, PA

Source: Public domain

Biggest Place: Pittsburgh
Population: 1,245,310
Median Income: $72,537 (18th best)
Median Home Price: $217,423 (25th best)
Unemployment Rate: 4.9% (32nd best)
More on Allegheny CountyData

Methodology: How do you determine which Pennsylvania county is the best?

To give you the best county in Pennsylvania, we have to look at a handful of metrics that signal the quality of a place. To do that, we made assumptions about what’s in a “best county” and what isn’t. For reference, we are trying to make the kind of argument you’d make at a bar using facts, Saturday Night Science.

With that in mind, we went to two of the best data sources on the internet. Namely, the American Community Survey data and FBI Crime data for the most recent period.

We paid particular attention to:

  • Violent Crime Rates
  • Property Crime Rates
  • Median Home Values
  • Median Income
  • Unemployment Rates
  • Adult Education Levels
  • Health Insurance Coverage
  • Poverty Rates

We then ranked each county in Pennsylvania across each of the criteria from one to 67, with one being the best.

Taking the average rank across all criteria, we created a quality of life score with the county posting the lowest overall score being the “Best County To Live In Pennsylvania.”

The result is some of the safest, quietest, and best counties to raise a family in the Keystone State.

We updated this article for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best counties to live in Pennsylvania.

Read on to see why Montgomery County is the best county, while Philadelphia County is probably in contention for being the worst county in Pennsylvania.

Summary: The Best Counties In Pennsylvania To Call Home For 2024

Living in Pennsylvania can vary from one part of the state to the next — who woulda thought?

The best counties in Pennsylvania are Montgomery County, Chester County, Bucks County, Butler County, Cumberland County, Northampton County, Montour County, Washington County, York County, and Allegheny County.

But now you know the outstanding parts and the parts to avoid, and that’s why you came here to learn at the end of the day.

You are welcome.

Here’s a look at the worst counties in Pennsylvania according to the data:

  1. Philadelphia County
  2. Forest County
  3. Clearfield County

For more Pennsylvania reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Counties In Pennsylvania

Rank County Population Median Income Median Home Price
1 Montgomery County 856,399 $107,441 $439,249
2 Chester County 536,474 $118,574 $509,017
3 Bucks County 645,163 $107,826 $460,050
4 Butler County 194,562 $82,932 $298,334
5 Cumberland County 261,269 $82,849 $305,102
6 Northampton County 314,299 $82,201 $317,275
7 Montour County 18,165 $72,626 $258,843
8 Washington County 209,631 $74,403 $210,192
9 York County 457,051 $79,183 $269,236
10 Allegheny County 1,245,310 $72,537 $217,423
11 Westmoreland County 354,414 $69,454 $187,630
12 Adams County 104,604 $78,975 $290,324
13 Wyoming County 26,219 $67,968 $213,443
14 Delaware County 575,312 $86,390 $325,747
15 Lancaster County 553,202 $81,458 $332,818
16 Beaver County 167,629 $67,194 $170,207
17 Centre County 158,665 $70,087 $316,218
18 Pike County 58,996 $76,416 $275,074
19 Perry County 45,941 $76,103 $264,490
20 Franklin County 156,084 $71,808 $259,175
21 Fulton County 14,545 $63,153 $211,632
22 Armstrong County 65,538 $61,011 $145,806
23 Dauphin County 286,108 $71,046 $242,913
24 Lackawanna County 215,672 $63,739 $199,359
25 Tioga County 41,186 $59,707 $200,329
26 Elk County 30,886 $61,672 $115,538
27 Blair County 122,640 $59,386 $167,493
28 Warren County 38,492 $57,925 $135,564
29 Snyder County 39,797 $65,914 $212,057
30 Sullivan County 5,880 $62,910 $225,717
31 Lebanon County 143,258 $72,532 $270,831
32 Monroe County 168,128 $80,656 $285,994
33 Union County 42,908 $64,914 $258,420
34 Lehigh County 374,110 $74,973 $310,307
35 Bedford County 47,613 $58,337 $192,282
36 Columbia County 64,924 $59,457 $215,730
37 Juniata County 23,535 $61,915 $211,246
38 Lycoming County 114,022 $63,437 $212,225
39 Berks County 428,483 $74,617 $271,427
40 Huntingdon County 44,123 $61,300 $180,687
41 Wayne County 51,227 $59,240 $281,468
42 Susquehanna County 38,540 $63,968 $206,779
43 Greene County 35,781 $66,283 $141,603
44 Erie County 270,495 $59,396 $185,124
45 Carbon County 65,018 $64,538 $241,821
46 Mckean County 40,459 $57,861 $104,526
47 Cambria County 133,263 $54,221 $104,935
48 Bradford County 60,159 $60,650 $185,844
49 Somerset County 73,802 $57,357 $160,870
50 Northumberland County 91,340 $55,952 $133,705
51 Schuylkill County 143,201 $63,574 $130,539
52 Lawrence County 85,907 $57,585 $147,789
53 Potter County 16,390 $56,491 $141,342
54 Mercer County 110,600 $57,353 $163,652
55 Venango County 50,475 $59,278 $120,981
56 Luzerne County 325,396 $60,836 $190,308
57 Cameron County 4,536 $46,186 $74,919
58 Crawford County 83,876 $58,734 $151,371
59 Clinton County 37,860 $59,011 $178,769
60 Indiana County 83,394 $57,170 $149,922
61 Mifflin County 46,146 $58,012 $166,210
62 Clarion County 37,489 $58,690 $120,587
63 Fayette County 128,417 $55,579 $134,947
64 Jefferson County 44,326 $56,607 $105,242
65 Clearfield County 79,707 $56,982 $123,353
66 Forest County 6,959 $46,188 $89,323
67 Philadelphia County 1,593,208 $57,537 $216,200
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.