Economy, Collegeville, Jefferson Hills: These cities aren’t just some of the best places to live in Pennsylvania. They are also home to some of the richest people in the Keystone State.
Economy in particular houses the richest residents in the state thanks, in part, to a median household income of $81,137 and a ridiculously low poverty rate of 3.8%.
If you’re thinking of moving to one of these towns, you’ll probably need to start saving. The richest places in Pennsylvania share common characteristics such as having a genius level populous, sky high home prices, and a Pleasantville level of married couples.
How did we come up with these mega wealthy cities? We analyzed Census data from the 2013-2017 American Community Survey for the 187 places in Pennsylvania with more than 5,000 people.
- Economy (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Collegeville (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Jefferson Hills (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Franklin Park (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Fox Chapel (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Souderton (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Forest Hills (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Doyle (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Perkasie (Photos | Homes For Sale)
- Camp Hill (Photos | Homes For Sale)
For more on how we calculated the top ten, read on or skip to the end for the full list of the richest cities in Pennsylvania.
Rich people not your cup of tea? Feel free to check out some more reading about Pennsylvania:
How We Determined The Richest Places In Pennsylvania For 2019
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 2013-2017 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, Economy, crowned the “Richest City In Pennsylvania For 2019”.
You can learn more about the top ten below or skip to the end to see the rankings for all 187 places.
/10
Population: 9,230
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $81,137
Unemployment Rate: 3.7%
Poverty Rate: 3.8%
More on Economy: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Economy is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,970 at the 2010 census.
/10
Population: 5,221
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 3)
Median Income: $103,828
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Poverty Rate: 1.2%
More on Collegeville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Collegeville, sometimes referred to as “Little Philly” is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia on the Perkiomen Creek. Collegeville was incorporated in 1896. It is the location of Ursinus College, opened in 1869. The population was 5,089 at the 2010 census.
/10
Population: 11,244
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $88,328
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
Poverty Rate: 3.1%
More on Jefferson Hills: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Jefferson Hills is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It includes the community of Large. In the 2010 census the population was 10,619. Jefferson Hills was created as Jefferson Township, incorporating on January 22, 1828, and named after Thomas Jefferson. The borough is a part of West Jefferson Hills School District. Before 1998, the borough was known as Jefferson.
/10
Population: 14,301
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $121,711
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 1.4%
More on Franklin Park: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Franklin Park is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,470 at the 2010 census.
/10
Population: 5,363
Rank Last Year: 44 (Up 39)
Median Income: $162,054
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
Poverty Rate: 0.4%
More on Fox Chapel: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Fox Chapel is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, and is a suburb of Pittsburgh located 6 miles (10 km) northeast of downtown.
/10
Population: 6,813
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 6)
Median Income: $66,667
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%
Poverty Rate: 4.8%
More on Souderton: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Souderton is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The population was 6,618 at the 2010 census.
/10
Population: 6,439
Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 7)
Median Income: $65,096
Unemployment Rate: 3.6%
Poverty Rate: 6.4%
More on Forest Hills: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 8,307
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 2)
Median Income: $76,042
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 8.0%
More on Doyle: Real Estate | Data | Photos
/10
Population: 8,505
Rank Last Year: 18 (Up 9)
Median Income: $73,470
Unemployment Rate: 3.7%
Poverty Rate: 7.2%
More on Perkasie: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Perkasie is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 35 miles (56 km) north of Philadelphia. Establishments in the borough early in the twentieth century included silk mills, baseballs, brickyards, lumber mills, tile works, a stone crusher, and manufacturies of cigars, tags and labels, wire novelties, etc. The population in 1900 was 1,803; in 1910, 2,779 people lived in Perkasie. The population was 8,515 at the 2013 census.
/10
Population: 7,906
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 1)
Median Income: $78,161
Unemployment Rate: 4.0%
Poverty Rate: 7.2%
More on Camp Hill: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Camp Hill is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, USA, 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,888 at the 2010 census. There are many large corporations based in nearby East Pennsboro Township and Wormleysburg that use the Camp Hill postal address, including the Rite Aid Corporation, Harsco Corporation, and Gannett Fleming.
There You Have It – The Wealthiest Places In Pennsylvania For 2019
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: Indiana
For more Pennsylvania reading, check out:
- These Are The 10 Best Counties To Live In Pennsylvania
- These Are The 10 Best Places To Retire In Pennsylvania
- 10 Best Places To Raise A Family In Pennsylvania
Detailed List Of The Richest Cities In Pennsylvania
| Rank | City | RichScore |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Economy | 10.67 |
| 2 | Collegeville | 11.83 |
| 3 | Jefferson Hills | 15.33 |
| 4 | Franklin Park | 16.0 |
| 5 | Fox Chapel | 17.33 |
| 6 | Souderton | 17.67 |
| 7 | Forest Hills | 19.33 |
| 8 | Doyle | 20.17 |
| 9 | Perkasie | 20.67 |
| 10 | Camp Hill | 21.0 |
| 11 | Swarthmore | 21.17 |
| 12 | Plum | 21.67 |
| 13 | White Oak | 22.83 |
| 14 | Downin | 23.0 |
| 15 | Lititz | 23.0 |
| 16 | Wyomissing | 23.17 |
| 17 | Oakmont | 27.33 |
| 18 | West View | 27.5 |
| 19 | Emmaus | 27.83 |
| 20 | Conshohocken | 30.83 |
| 21 | Mechanicsburg | 31.0 |
| 22 | Hollidaysburg | 32.0 |
| 23 | New Holland | 34.67 |
| 24 | Dormont | 37.17 |
| 25 | Baldwin | 37.67 |
| 26 | St. Marys | 38.0 |
| 27 | Northampton | 38.33 |
| 28 | Elizabet | 39.67 |
| 29 | Mount Joy | 40.17 |
| 30 | Kennett Square | 40.5 |
| 31 | Bellefonte | 41.17 |
| 32 | Ridley Park | 42.0 |
| 33 | Glenolden | 42.83 |
| 34 | New Cumberland | 42.83 |
| 35 | Hatboro | 46.5 |
| 36 | Lower Burrell | 47.33 |
| 37 | Pleasant Hills | 47.5 |
| 38 | Media | 48.0 |
| 39 | Lansdale | 48.33 |
| 40 | Selinsgrove | 48.67 |
| 41 | Norwood | 49.67 |
| 42 | Whitehall | 49.83 |
| 43 | Brookhaven | 50.17 |
| 44 | Brentwood | 50.17 |
| 45 | Grove City | 50.33 |
| 46 | Helle | 51.17 |
| 47 | Hermitage | 52.5 |
| 48 | Sharon Hill | 53.67 |
| 49 | Birdsboro | 53.67 |
| 50 | Phoenixville | 54.33 |
| 51 | Red Lion | 54.5 |
| 52 | Crafton | 54.5 |
| 53 | Lansdowne | 55.0 |
| 54 | Castle Shannon | 55.17 |
| 55 | South Williamsport | 56.17 |
| 56 | Catasauqua | 56.83 |
| 57 | Prospect Park | 57.83 |
| 58 | Moosic | 58.0 |
| 59 | Olyphant | 61.5 |
| 60 | Schuylkill Haven | 62.33 |
| 61 | Palmyra | 63.17 |
| 62 | Archbald | 63.33 |
| 63 | Ambler | 63.83 |
| 64 | Palmerton | 63.83 |
| 65 | Morrisville | 64.33 |
| 66 | Canonsburg | 65.33 |
| 67 | Shillington | 67.17 |
| 68 | Quake | 67.67 |
| 69 | Bristol | 68.17 |
| 70 | Ephrata | 68.17 |
| 71 | Old Forge | 70.67 |
| 72 | Exeter | 71.0 |
| 73 | Monaca | 73.5 |
| 74 | Wilson | 74.0 |
| 75 | Folcroft | 74.33 |
| 76 | Munhall | 76.33 |
| 77 | Lewisburg | 76.67 |
| 78 | Bellevue | 77.17 |
| 79 | Dunmore | 79.5 |
| 80 | Bethlehem | 79.5 |
| 81 | Dickson City | 80.67 |
| 82 | Bridgeville | 81.17 |
| 83 | Hanover | 81.33 |
| 84 | Clifton Heights | 81.83 |
| 85 | Kingston | 83.83 |
| 86 | Nazareth | 83.83 |
| 87 | Greenville | 86.33 |
| 88 | Carlisle | 86.67 |
| 89 | Milton | 87.17 |
| 90 | Turtle Creek | 87.83 |
| 91 | Jeannette | 88.0 |
| 92 | Corry | 89.67 |
| 93 | Pottsville | 89.83 |
| 94 | Blakely | 90.83 |
| 95 | West Chester | 93.33 |
| 96 | Middl | 97.33 |
| 97 | Chambersburg | 99.17 |
| 98 | Yeadon | 99.67 |
| 99 | Kut | 99.83 |
| 100 | Easton | 100.0 |
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.