Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Bethlehem's standout: it is more walkable than 96% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades C−, ranked 942nd of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It has 18 miles of trail. Its weakest subject is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $361K, 4.3 years of the Allentown metro’s $85K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 23 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Old Waterworks and Gemeinhaus-Lewis David De Schweinitz Residence. 50% of households own their home in Bethlehem, below both Pennsylvania’s towns (78%) and U.S. towns (73%). Bethlehem is home to Lehigh University.
Where Bethlehem beats most towns.
Old Waterworks
H.D.
Old Waterworks is one of 3 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier. Its 23 National Register listings are more than in 98% of Pennsylvania towns with a listing.
Census counts: 1,516 in 1850, 75,781 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1761 and 3 maps from 1894 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Bethlehem is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bethlehem. Close and well known come first.
9 mi Theme parkDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Big draw40 mi MuseumLynnewood Hall
6 mi Stadium & arenaPPL Center
10 mi Park & preserveLehigh River
40 mi Park & preserveDuke Farms
35 mi National Historical ParkValley Forge National Historical Park1.8M visitors a yearDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom: Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lynnewood Hall: Shuvaev, CC BY-SA 3.0 · PPL Center: Hunter Kahn, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lehigh River: The original uploader was Malepheasant at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · Duke Farms: Ekem, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Valley Forge National Historical Park: The original uploader was JGHowes at English Wikipedia. (Original text: en:User, Attribution
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bethlehem, 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 Bethlehem.
Bethlehem trades workers with Allentown and other neighbors and is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s; it also has a long record of flood insurance claims.
The trail density in Bethlehem is 0.9 miles per square mile. The biggest park or preserve is Saucon Park, at 99 acres.
| Bethlehem | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.2% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sand Island Park | 1.1 mi | 11 |
| 2. Saucon Park | 0.4 mi | 99 |
| 3. Monocacy Park Complex | 0.2 mi | 57 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Bethlehem Area SD. Three of its 29 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Hills MSLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 966 | B− |
| Liberty HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,541 | C− |
| Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the ArtsTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 550 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
The typical Bethlehem home is worth about $361,000, up 4.1% in a year, 26% above the Pennsylvania typical home. Bethlehem’s median rent is $1,382 a month.
| Bethlehem | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,382 a month | $1,114 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 53% | 44% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Adults 18 to 34 are 31% of residents (22% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 33% of residents (38% statewide). 17% of Bethlehem residents are under 18. Bethlehem has grown 5.1% since 2020, to 79,644 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Bethlehem | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 36.1 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 17% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 29% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 21% | 18% |
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.3 points). Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women. Median age: women 37.3, men 34.5.
| Bethlehem | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.5% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.6% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 16.3% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.1% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.3% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.5% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.4% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.3% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 28% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.2% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.5% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.2% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.8% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Bethlehem has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 20° and about 33 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Bethlehem has about as many jobs (39,738) as working residents, but only 6,557 people both live and work here.
About one in 5 of Bethlehem’s working residents works in town. 16% of residents live below the poverty line in Bethlehem. Jobs based in Bethlehem grew to 39,738 in 2023, 5,131 more than in 2013.
| Bethlehem | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 17% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Bethlehem beats the Pennsylvania average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 5.
| Bethlehem | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 6.9% | 8.1% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Bethlehem | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 11.6% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 21.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 77% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
166 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 19 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 166 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bethlehem.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
9 within 15 miles of the center of Bethlehem
About 14 of every 100 Bethlehem residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
2 colleges in town.
23 places in Bethlehem on the National Register of Historic Places.
78 notable people were born in Bethlehem.
City in Pennsylvania, US
Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781, making it the second-largest city in the Lehigh Valley after Allentown and the seventh-largest city in the state. Among its total population as of 2020, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19,343 were in Lehigh County. The city is located along the Lehigh River, a 109-mile-long (175 km) tributary of the Delaware River. Bethlehem lies in the geographic center of the Lehigh Valley, a metropolitan region of 731 sq mi (1,890 km2) with a population of 861,899 people as of the 2020 census that is Pennsylvani…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Bethlehem.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C−; Freemansburg (C) is closest.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem | #942 | C− | C− | C+ | C | C+ |
| Hanover Township | #876 | C | D− | — | C | B |
| Lower Saucon Township | #321 | A− | C− | A− | A | B |
| Hellertown | #432 | B+ | C | B | A | B |
| Hanover Township | — | — | C | — | C+ | C− |
| Bethlehem Township | #576 | B | D | B+ | C | A− |
| Freemansburg | #905 | C | C | — | C | B |
| Salisbury Township | #901 | C | C− | — | C | B− |
Hanover Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Hanover Township, Hanover Township, Freemansburg and Salisbury Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Bethlehem with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bethlehem grades C− overall, better than 22% of U.S. towns and #942 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C+ for health, C+ for safety and C for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Pennsylvania has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Bethlehem sits nearer the middle.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
78 notable people were born here, including H.D. and Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
_08.jpg){kind=link}
