Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Akron grades B+ overall, ranked 504th of 1032 in Pennsylvania, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $77K and 12% of its land is conserved. A typical home there costs about $350K, 4 years of the Lancaster metro’s $87K median household income. Akron’s trail density is 2.2 miles per square mile, above both Pennsylvania’s towns (0.4) and U.S. towns (0.4). The biggest place to walk is Lloyd H. Roland Memorial Park, 88 acres with 1.7 miles of trail. Akron is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns.
Where Akron beats most towns.
11.5% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Akron is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 284 in 1880, 4,152 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 6 maps from 1906 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Akron. Close and well known come first.
26 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year
2 mi MuseumEphrata Cloister
9 mi Theme parkDutch Wonderland
34 mi GardenLongwood Gardens
26 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark Stadium
12 mi MuseumRailroad Museum of PennsylvaniaHersheypark: Michael Gray, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ephrata Cloister: 1549bcp at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Dutch Wonderland: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Longwood Gardens: P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hersheypark Stadium: 45BearsFan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania: Dough4872, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Akron, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Akron.
Akron sends most of its workers to Manheim Township and beyond and has home values climbing faster than Pennsylvania’s.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lloyd H. Roland Memorial Park | 1.7 mi | 88 |
| 2. Akron Mennonite Church Nature Preserve | 0.5 mi | 6 |
| 3. Broad Street Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Ephrata Area SD. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akron El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 276 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Akron has 373 jobs for its 2,287 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here fell from 483 in 2013 to 373.
Most working residents leave Akron for work: only 2% work in town. Since 2013, Akron has lost 110 jobs, to 373 in 2023. 5% of Akron residents live below the poverty line, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 7.6% and U.S. towns at 9.6%.
| Akron | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.8% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Work from home | 9.4% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Home values rose 38% in five years, to about $350K, against 23% across Pennsylvania.
63% of Akron households own their home. Typical home values rose 4.6% in the year to September 2026.
| Akron | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 63% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,162 a month | $1,114 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Akron has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 22° and about 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 67% of U.S. communities. Since 1989, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Akron.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Akron beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 19% of adults binge drink in Akron.
| Akron | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 24% | 23% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 36% |
| What stands out | Akron | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 8.2% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
8 within 15 miles of the center of Akron
About 2 of every 100 Akron residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where Akron’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Akron is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 4,169.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Akron.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | #504 | B+ | C+ | — | B− | B |
| Ephrata Township | #784 | C+ | C− | — | B− | B |
| West Earl Township | #220 | A | C+ | A+ | B+ | B |
| Ephrata | #370 | A− | B | A− | B− | B |
Akron and Ephrata Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Akron with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Akron grades B+ overall, better than 66% of U.S. towns and #504 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B for health and B− for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
