Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Avalon's standout: few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Overall it grades A−, ranked 360th of 1032 in Pennsylvania. 8% of its land is conserved. 11% of residents are under 18 in Avalon, against 20% in Pennsylvania’s towns and 22% across U.S. towns. Avalon has 1 place on the National Register.
Where Avalon beats most towns.
Where Avalon’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Avalon is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 326 in 1880, a peak of 7,010 in 1970, 4,762 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 1885 and 2 maps from 1951 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Avalon. Close and well known come first.
Big draw5 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
5 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
5 mi Stadium & arenaPNC Park
6 mi Stadium & arenaPPG Paints Arena
13 mi Theme parkKennywood
5 mi LandmarkFort PittAcrisure Stadium: Fo2grfr, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Duquesne: Sébastien Paquin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · PNC Park: alpineinc, CC BY 2.0 · PPG Paints Arena: Jleedev, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kennywood: Ski2007 of English Wikipedia, Public domain · Fort Pitt: Downtown_Pittsburgh_May_2008.jpg: Allie Caufield derivative work: GrapedApe (tal, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Avalon, 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 Avalon.
Avalon is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has homes that are cheap against local pay and is mostly renters.
Most working residents leave Avalon for work: only 3% work in town. 21% of workers work from home in Avalon. Since 2013, Avalon has lost 143 jobs, to 991 in 2023.
| Avalon | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 21% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $51,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.6% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by Northgate SD. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avalon El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 252 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Against the 6,213 U.S. towns with household incomes like Avalon’s, it is healthier than 98%, so its B+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Avalon tracks Pennsylvania closely on all 26 CDC measures. 32% of Avalon adults have obesity.
| Avalon | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 35% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 11% | 12% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Pennsylvania has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Avalon sits closer to the middle.
| Avalon | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.5 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Only 41.4% of households own their home, against 69.3% across Pennsylvania.
Children under 18 are 11% of residents (21% statewide); people 65 and older are 25% of residents (20% statewide). Avalon has lost 4.8% of its people since 2020, down to 4,572 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. Avalon’s median age is 45.7 years.
| Avalon | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 25% | 21% | 18% |
| Median age | 45.7 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 29% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.7 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women. Among residents 45 to 54, 79% are men (PA 50%).
| Avalon | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.5% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.9% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.2% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 17.5% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.9% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.4% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.6% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 11% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.8% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.6% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 19% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 11.1% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 28.6% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 6.8% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,600, single groups can be off by several points
Avalon has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 21° and about 44 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The trail density in Avalon is 0.9 miles per square mile. 0.6 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Avalon Community Park and Pool | 0.1 mi | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Avalon since 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 2.3 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 86% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its B− for cost of living.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
15 within 15 miles of the center of Avalon
About 4 of every 100 Avalon residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Avalon is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Ohio River 6 miles (10 km) downstream from Pittsburgh. The population was 4,762 at the 2020 census. It is a residential suburb of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Avalon.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalon | #360 | A− | B− | B+ | B− | B+ |
| Bellevue | #459 | B+ | B− | B− | B− | A− |
| Ben Avon | — | — | C− | — | A+ | A |
| Kilbuck Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Ben Avon has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Ben Avon reports no FBI crime data of its own. Kilbuck Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Avalon with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Avalon grades A− overall, better than 78% of U.S. towns and #360 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B+ for health, B+ for safety and B− for schools.
Yes, by national standards. Pennsylvania has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Avalon sits nearer the middle.
The typical home is worth about $171,000, 41% below the Pennsylvania typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
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