Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 26,769, settled in 1741.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Bethlehem Township grades B overall, 576th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania. The median household earns $119K. Residents are healthier than 82% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $376K, 4.5 years of the Allentown metro’s $85K median household income. Bethlehem Township is home to Northampton County Area Community College. Bethlehem Township’s median rent is $1,794 a month, above both Pennsylvania’s towns ($1,114 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). On civic life, just 145 of Pennsylvania’s 1,717 towns do worse.
Where Bethlehem Township beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,516 in 1850, 75,781 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1761 and 7 maps from 1894 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Bethlehem Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bethlehem Township. Close and well known come first.
13 mi Theme parkDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
6 mi Park & preserveLehigh River
9 mi Stadium & arenaPPL Center
37 mi LakeLake Musconetcong
37 mi Park & preserveDuke Farms
4 mi Theme parkBushkill ParkDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom: Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lehigh River: The original uploader was Malepheasant at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · PPL Center: Hunter Kahn, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Musconetcong: Zeete, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Duke Farms: Ekem, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bushkill Park: Mr6507, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bethlehem 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Bethlehem Township.
Bethlehem Township trades workers with Bethlehem and other neighbors, has less tooth loss than most of Pennsylvania and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more.
14 miles of trail in 17 parks and preserves. Bethlehem Township’s trail density is 1.0 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Bethlehem Township Municipal Park, 73 acres with 2 miles of trail.
| Bethlehem Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.9% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bethlehem Township Municipal Park | 2 mi | 73 |
| 2. Louise W. Moore Park | 1.8 mi | 61 |
| 3. Janet Johnston Housenick and William D. Housenick Memorial Park | 1.2 mi | 53 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Bethlehem Area SD. Three of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Freedom HS, with 1,792 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farmersville El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 357 | B+ |
| Freedom HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,792 | C− |
| Miller Heights El SchTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 328 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Pennsylvania is tooth loss: 8.4% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 14.5% statewide. Against the 5,876 U.S. towns with household incomes like Bethlehem Township’s, it is healthier than 60%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
15% of Bethlehem Township adults report frequent mental distress. Bethlehem Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 8 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 19% of Bethlehem Township adults binge drink.
| Bethlehem Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 24% | 23% |
| What stands out | Bethlehem Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.4% | 14.5% |
| Fewer smokers | 13% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 69% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 49 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Bethlehem Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Bethlehem Township 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
Reported crimes fell from 340 to 249 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 11 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
Pennsylvania has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Bethlehem Township sits closer to the middle. The violent crime rate in Bethlehem Township is 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Bethlehem Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.8 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Bethlehem Township has about as many jobs (13,393) as working residents, but only 973 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Bethlehem Township for work: only 8% work in town. Jobs based in Bethlehem Township grew to 13,393 in 2023, 2,874 more than in 2013. 5.1% of residents live below the poverty line in Bethlehem Township.
| Bethlehem Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $119,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 16% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.1% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
8 within 15 miles of the center of Bethlehem Township
About 7 of every 100 Bethlehem Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
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)
7 towns share a border with Bethlehem Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem Township | #576 | B | D | B+ | C | A− |
| Middletown | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Freemansburg | #905 | C | C | — | C | B |
| Bethlehem | #942 | C− | C− | C+ | C | C+ |
| Lower Saucon Township | #321 | A− | C− | A− | A | B |
| Lower Nazareth Township | #272 | A | C | — | A | A− |
| Palmer Township | #578 | B | C− | B | C | A− |
| Easton | #841 | C | C+ | B | C | C+ |
Freemansburg and Lower Nazareth Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Middletown isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Bethlehem Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Bethlehem Township grades B overall, better than 60% of U.S. towns and #576 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades A− for health, B+ for safety and C for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. Pennsylvania has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Bethlehem Township 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 D.
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