Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Bangor is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B overall, 629th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools rank ahead of 65% of Pennsylvania towns. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $70K. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: residents are less healthy than 76% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. A typical home there costs about $330K, 3.9 years of the Allentown metro’s $85K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 3 places on the National Register. On hazard risk, just 113 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns do worse. Its National Register listings include Bridge in Bangor Borough and Real Estate Building. Bangor is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns.
Where Bangor beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,328 in 1880, 5,187 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1911 and 7 maps from 1891 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Bangor is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bangor. Close and well known come first.
26 mi Theme parkDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
27 mi LakeLake Musconetcong
7 mi National park siteMiddle Delaware National Scenic River4.1M visitors a year
12 mi Park & preserveLehigh River
38 mi LakeLake Wallenpaupack
23 mi Stadium & arenaPPL CenterDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom: Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Musconetcong: Zeete, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Middle Delaware National Scenic River: Mike Serfas, Public domain · Lehigh River: The original uploader was Malepheasant at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · Lake Wallenpaupack: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 · PPL Center: Hunter Kahn, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bangor, 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 Bangor.
Bangor has seen reported crime fall by about half, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding) and has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
21% of adults smoke cigarettes in Bangor, above both the Pennsylvania town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (14%). 19% of Bangor adults report frequent mental distress. Bangor beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 7.
| Bangor | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Bangor | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 9.5% | 5.8% |
| More smokers | 20.8% | 15.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.7% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here fell from 1,065 in 2013 to 757.
Most working residents leave Bangor for work: only 4% work in town. Since 2013, Bangor has lost 308 jobs, to 757 in 2023. The top destinations are Palmer Township (5%), Bethlehem (4%) and Washington Township (4%).
| Bangor | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.4% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $409 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Bangor’s FEMA risk score is 71 of 100, against 30 of 100 in Pennsylvania’s towns and 44 of 100 across U.S. towns. Since 1983, 47 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bangor.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Bangor has chilly winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 23 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Bangor home is worth about $330,000, up 1.9% in a year, 15% above the Pennsylvania typical home.
| Bangor | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 73% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,134 a month | $1,114 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Reported crimes fell from 67 to 26 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Bangor’s violent crime rate is 3.3 per 1,000 residents. Pennsylvania has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Bangor sits closer to the middle.
| Bangor | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 3.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 8 per 1,000 residents | 6.7 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
The biggest park or preserve is Bangor Memorial Park, at 28 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bangor Memorial Park | — | 28 |
| 2. Flory's Dam Park | — | 19 |
| 3. Pennico Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
4 within 15 miles of the center of Bangor
About 4 of every 100 Bangor residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where Bangor’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Bangor on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Bangor.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Bangor is a borough located in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located 32 miles (51 km) north of Allentown. It had a population of 5,187 as of the 2020 census. Bangor is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. as of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Bangor.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangor | #629 | B | B | B | B+ | C− |
| Washington Township | #614 | B | C | A− | B+ | B− |
| East Bangor | — | — | B | — | B+ | B− |
| Roseto | — | — | B− | A | B+ | C− |
East Bangor and Roseto have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. East Bangor reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Bangor with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Bangor grades B overall, better than 56% of U.S. towns and #629 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C− for health, B for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes, by national standards. Pennsylvania has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Bangor sits nearer the middle.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
5 notable people were born here, including Everett Kent and Carl Henry Hoffman.
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