Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,748, settled in 1877. 3.4 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Pennsylvania town.
The best of Bellwood’s subject grades are an A− for cost of living and the outdoors and an A+ for civic life; the weakest is a C− for incomes. Bellwood’s average trip to work is 18 minutes, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 26 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Bellwood is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 74% of U.S. towns. Only 4 of Pennsylvania’s 1,717 towns score higher on civic life. Bellwood has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Bellwood beats most towns.
Where Bellwood’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 Bellwood is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 600 in 1880, a peak of 2,772 in 1940, 1,827 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1923 and 3 maps from 1920 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bellwood, 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 Bellwood.
The typical Bellwood home is worth about $172,000, up 3.6% in a year, 40% below the Pennsylvania typical home. Bellwood’s median rent is $989 a month, close to Pennsylvania’s towns ($1,115 a month) and below U.S. towns ($1,185 a month).
| Bellwood | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $989 a month | $1,115 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 78% | 78% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by Bellwood-Antis SD. Its one school is below. The largest public high school is Bellwood-Antis HS, with 378 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellwood-Antis HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 378 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Bellwood for work: only 7% work in town. 16% of Bellwood residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Bellwood fell to 516 in 2023, 117 fewer than in 2013.
| Bellwood | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $52,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 6.9% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Bellwood has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 35 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Bellwood's reported crime rate is well below Pennsylvania's. The property crime rate in Bellwood is 2.3 per 1,000 residents. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Bellwood | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.3 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
0.3 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Bellwood | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.2% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bellwood Antis Park | 0.3 mi | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 57% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Bellwood since 1984.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Bellwood beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 20% of adults smoke cigarettes in Bellwood.
| Bellwood | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| What stands out | Bellwood | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 19.5% | 15.8% |
| More adults in frequent mental distress | 18.8% | 16.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bellwood. Close and well known come first.
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaBeaver Stadium
21 mi LakeRaystown Lake
29 mi DamSouth Fork Dam
10 mi Theme parkLakemont Park
14 mi National Historic SiteAllegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site163K visitors a year
7 mi MuseumRailroaders Memorial MuseumBeaver Stadium: Sbvr6 (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Raystown Lake: Tex Jobe, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Public domain · South Fork Dam: Ernest Walter Histed, Public domain · Lakemont Park: Bhakta Dano. Original uploader was Oldano at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site: Matthew A. Lynn; Original uploader was Mosamiazaz at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Railroaders Memorial Museum: Mark Frederick, CC0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Bellwood
About 6 of every 100 Bellwood residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
4 notable people were born in Bellwood.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Bellwood is a borough in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Altoona, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was at 1,829 as of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Bellwood.
Bellwood has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Bellwood reports no FBI crime data of its own. Reightown isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bellwood with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
3.4 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Pennsylvania town.
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−.
4 notable people were born here, including Raymond M. Fuoss and Red Fleming.
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