Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Brookville gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $137K, 2.3 years of the county’s $59K median household income. It grades B+ overall, 487th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $60K, and 13% of residents live below the poverty line. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 5 places on the National Register. Brookville’s violent crime rate is 5.7 per 1,000 residents, against 0.7 in Pennsylvania’s towns and 1.6 across U.S. towns. On history, just 100 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Memorial Park, at 21 acres.
Where Brookville beats most towns.
Joseph E. Hall House
Census counts: 763 in 1850, 3,995 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1895 and 3 maps from 1924 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Brookville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Brookville, 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 Brookville.
Brookville draws workers from Pine Creek Township and beyond, but it reports violent crime at about twice the Pennsylvania rate and carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding).
2,973 jobs are based in Brookville, 1.9 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 19 minutes, against 26.3 across Pennsylvania.
29% of working residents work locally in Brookville. Since 2013, Brookville has lost 348 jobs, to 2,973 in 2023. Brookville’s average trip to work is 19 minutes.
| Brookville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 29% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 19 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $60,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by Brookville Area SD. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Brookville JSHS, with 574 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hickory Grove El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–6 | Grades 3–6 | 409 | B− |
| Brookville JSHSLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 574 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
At 2.3 years of the county’s $59K median household income, the typical home (about $137K) costs less against local pay than in 86% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. At about $137K, home values are down 1% in five years, against a rise of 23% across Pennsylvania.
The median rent in Brookville is $679 a month. The typical Brookville home is worth about $137,000, down 0.9% in a year, 52% below the Pennsylvania typical home. 58% of Brookville households own their home.
| Brookville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 58% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $679 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| Brookville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.6% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Memorial Park | — | 21 |
| 2. Walter Dick Memorial Park | 0.2 mi | 5 |
| 3. Longview Park | 0.1 mi | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Putneyville 2 Se Dam weather station, 19 miles away, records that about 7 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Brookville has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 17° and about 35 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 31% of residents (38% statewide); people 65 and older are 24% of residents (20% statewide). Brookville has lost 2.9% of its people since 2020, down to 3,883 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 27% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Pennsylvania.
| Brookville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 37.4 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 21% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 20% | 22% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.6 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Brookville | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.6% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.3% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.6% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.6% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.1% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.4% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.7% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 39.8% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 19.6% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.4% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.9% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 9.5% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,900, single groups can be off by several points
Violent crime runs at 5.7 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Pennsylvania rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its B. Reported crimes rose from 14 to 33 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Pennsylvania has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Brookville sits closer to the middle.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 85% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $423 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1978, 34 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Brookville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 8,980 U.S. towns with household incomes like Brookville’s, it is healthier than 79%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Brookville beats the Pennsylvania average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 4.
| Brookville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 34% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 80% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | Brookville | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.4% | 79.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.1% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Brookville; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Brookville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where Brookville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 places in Brookville on the National Register of Historic Places.
12 notable people were born in Brookville.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Brookville is a borough in Jefferson County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, 70 miles (110 km) northeast of Pittsburgh. As of the 2020 census, Brookville had a population of 3,995. Founded in 1830, it is the county seat of Jefferson County.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Brookville.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brookville | #487 | B+ | B+ | B | B+ | B− |
| Rose Township | — | — | A− | — | B+ | B− |
| Pine Creek Township | — | — | B+ | — | B+ | B− |
Rose Township and Pine Creek Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Rose Township and Pine Creek Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Brookville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Brookville grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #487 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B− for health, B for safety and B+ for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes, by national standards. Pennsylvania has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Brookville 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 B+.
12 notable people were born here, including Albert C. Thompson and DeVeren Bookwalter.
