Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Pennsylvania has a population of 1,564.
Bethel Township’s best subject grade is a B+ for cost of living; its weakest is a D for walkability. Bethel Township’s typical journey to work is 39 minutes, against 26 minutes in Pennsylvania’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Only 90 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns score higher on hazard risk. On history, just 67 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns do worse. The biggest place to walk is State Game Lands Number 128, 685 acres with 1.1 miles of trail. On the outdoors, just 136 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns do worse. Bethel Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Bethel Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Where Bethel Township beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,420 in 2000, 1,551 in 2020. The archive holds 21 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 3 maps from 1935 on.
Explore the history →Where Bethel Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Ordered by what stands out in Bethel Township.
FEMA expects less storm and flood damage in Bethel Township than in 95% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 57% come from inland flooding and 19% from hurricanes.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The largest public high school is Southern Fulton JSHS, with 323 students. The public schools here belong to Southern Fulton SD. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Fulton El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 346 | B− |
| Southern Fulton JSHSLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 323 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
For half of commuters, work is under 28 miles away. Jobs in Bethel Township fell by 40 from 2013 to 2023, to 440. Most working residents leave Bethel Township for work: only 8% work in town. Bethel Township: 17% of workers do their job from home.
| Bethel Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 17% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $75,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
In Bethel Township, the midsummer high is 87°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among adults in Bethel Township, 36% have high blood pressure. For adults locally, the share who smoke cigarettes is 17%.
| Bethel Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 17% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 34% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 38% | 36% |
| What stands out | Bethel Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.4% | 8.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.8% | 7.7% |
| More adults with arthritis | 34.6% | 30.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The trail density in Bethel Township is 0.1 miles per square mile. Walkers can cover 3.4 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Bethel Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. State Game Lands Number 128 | 1.1 mi | 685 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bethel Township. Close and well known come first.
31 mi National BattlefieldAntietam National Battlefield161K visitors a year
6 mi National Historical ParkChesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park4.6M visitors a year
39 mi National Historical ParkHarpers Ferry National Historical Park538K visitors a year
39 mi National park siteCatoctin Mountain Park461K visitors a year
33 mi LandmarkDunker Church
30 mi LandmarkFort CumberlandAntietam National Battlefield: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park: Bonnachoven, CC0 · Harpers Ferry National Historical Park: Mark Fickett, CC BY 3.0 · Catoctin Mountain Park: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dunker Church: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Fort Cumberland: Unknown, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bethel Township, 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.
None within 15 miles of Bethel Township; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Bethel Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Township in Pennsylvania, United States
Bethel Township is a township in Fulton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,551 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Bethel Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel Township | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Thompson Township | — | — | B− | — | C+ | C+ |
| Union Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Brush Creek Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Belfast Township | — | — | A− | — | C+ | B− |
Bethel Township, Thompson Township and Belfast Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Bethel Township, Thompson Township and Belfast Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Union Township and Brush Creek Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bethel Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
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 B+.
Ask a question, answer one, post a photo or an event. Free, and the parts only a neighbor would know are the parts worth reading.
.jpg){kind=link}
