Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Beaver Falls gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $202K, 2.7 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income. It grades C+ overall, ranked 816th of 1032 in Pennsylvania. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 93% of the country, and the median household income is $50K, and 21% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. 21% of residents live below the poverty line in Beaver Falls, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 7.6% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Beaver Falls is home to Geneva College. Beaver Falls's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 81% of U.S. towns.
Where Beaver Falls beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Beaver Falls is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for health (better than 7%), so the C+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,112 in 1870, a peak of 17,375 in 1950, 9,005 in 2020. The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 1899 and 3 maps from 1957 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Beaver Falls, 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 Beaver Falls.
Beaver Falls has homes that are cheap against local pay and is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s; it also scores below West Mayfield and its other neighbors on health.
All 6 graded neighbors score healthier than its D, from West Mayfield (C) to North Sewickley Township (B−).
22% of Beaver Falls adults report frequent mental distress. Beaver Falls beats the Pennsylvania average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 27% of Beaver Falls adults say their health is fair or poor.
| Beaver Falls | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 16% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 19% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Beaver Falls | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 25.1% | 14.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by Big Beaver Falls Area SD. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Beaver Falls Area SHS, with 486 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 466 | C− |
| Beaver Falls Area SHSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 486 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
At 2.7 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home (about $202K) costs less against local pay than in 76% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $1,401, against $3,311 across Pennsylvania, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
55% of households own their home in Beaver Falls. Typical home values rose 5.4% in the year to September 2026. Beaver Falls’ median rent is $727 a month.
| Beaver Falls | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $727 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Beaver Falls has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 20° and about 20 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Beaver Falls for work: only 12% work in town. The average trip to work in Beaver Falls is 21 minutes. Jobs based in Beaver Falls fell to 2,540 in 2023, 278 fewer than in 2013.
| Beaver Falls | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $50,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 7.2% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Beaver Falls.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Beaver Falls | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.4% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. 37th Street Park | — | 2 |
| 2. City View Playground | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 19.4 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 75% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Beaver Falls. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
27 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
27 mi Stadium & arenaPNC Park
35 mi Theme parkKennywood
28 mi Stadium & arenaPPG Paints Arena
28 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 · Kennywood: Ski2007 of English Wikipedia, Public domain · PPG Paints Arena: Jleedev, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Pitt: Downtown_Pittsburgh_May_2008.jpg: Allie Caufield derivative work: GrapedApe (tal, CC BY 2.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Beaver Falls
About 14 of every 100 Beaver Falls residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
28 notable people were born in Beaver Falls.
City in Pennsylvania, US
Beaver Falls is a city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 9,005 at the 2020 census. The city lies along the Beaver River 6 miles (9.7 km) north of its confluence with the Ohio River. It is 31 miles (50 km) northwest of Pittsburgh and is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Beaver Falls.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C+; New Brighton (C+) is closest.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver Falls | #816 | C+ | A | B− | C | D |
| West Mayfield | — | — | A− | — | B+ | C |
| White Township | — | — | A− | — | C | C+ |
| Big Beaver | — | — | B+ | — | C | C+ |
| Daugherty Township | #737 | B− | B+ | — | C+ | B− |
| North Sewickley Township | #165 | A | A− | A | A− | B− |
| New Brighton | #771 | C+ | A | C− | C+ | C+ |
| Eastvale | — | — | — | — | — | — |
West Mayfield, White Township and Big Beaver have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. West Mayfield, White Township, Big Beaver and Daugherty Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Eastvale isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Beaver Falls with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Beaver Falls grades C+ overall, better than 37% of U.S. towns and #816 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades D for health, B− for safety and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Pennsylvania has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Beaver Falls sits nearer the middle.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
28 notable people were born here, including Thomas Midgley and Joe Namath.
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