Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Charleroi gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $89K for a typical one, or 1.2 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income. It grades C overall, 864th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 90% of the country, and the median household income is $43K, and 31% 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 91% of U.S. towns, with 3 places on the National Register. 31% of residents live below the poverty line in Charleroi, above both Pennsylvania’s towns (7.6%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). On hazard risk, just 103 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns do worse.
Where Charleroi beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Charleroi is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,930 in 1900, a peak of 11,516 in 1920, 4,234 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 7 maps from 1902 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Charleroi, 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 Charleroi.
Charleroi is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding).
At 1.2 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home (about $89K) costs less against local pay than in 98% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living. Values fell 10.2% in the past year while the Pennsylvania typical home rose 2.2%.
49% of Charleroi households own their home. Typical home values fell 10% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Charleroi is $907 a month.
| Charleroi | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 49% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $907 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 3,416 U.S. towns with household incomes like Charleroi’s, it is less healthy than 61%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
44% of adults have obesity in Charleroi. Charleroi beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 40% of adults have high blood pressure in Charleroi.
| Charleroi | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 16% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 35% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Charleroi | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 8.8% | 5.8% |
| More smokers | 21.9% | 15.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.3% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 96% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $531 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Charleroi’s FEMA risk score is 78 of 100. Since 1979, 30 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Charleroi.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Charleroi has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 22° and about 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based in Charleroi grew to 2,085 in 2023, 220 more than in 2013. Most working residents leave Charleroi for work: only 12% work in town. The top destinations are Speers (6%), Pittsburgh (5%) and Washington (3%).
| Charleroi | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $43,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Charleroi Community Park | — | 13 |
| 2. Woodland Ave Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Charleroi. Close and well known come first.
Big draw28 mi MuseumFallingwater
Big draw22 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
17 mi Theme parkKennywood
22 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
22 mi Stadium & arenaPNC Park
21 mi Stadium & arenaPPG Paints ArenaFallingwater: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Acrisure Stadium: Fo2grfr, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kennywood: Ski2007 of English Wikipedia, Public domain · Fort Duquesne: Sébastien Paquin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · PNC Park: alpineinc, CC BY 2.0 · PPG Paints Arena: Jleedev, CC BY-SA 4.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Charleroi
About 2 of every 100 Charleroi residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
3 places in Charleroi on the National Register of Historic Places.
16 notable people were born in Charleroi.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Charleroi ( SHAR-lə-roy) is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Monongahela River, 21 miles south of Pittsburgh. Charleroi was settled in 1890 and incorporated in 1891. The 2020 census recorded a population of 4,210. Reduced industrial activities in the region led to a decreasing population. The steel-making industry was supported by cheap transportation on the Monongahela River from upstream of Charleroi into northern West Virginia and north as well as downstream past McKeesport to the mouth of the Monongahela in Pittsburgh. Colloquially, the stretch from Charleroi north to McKeesport (historically because of press coverage of High School sports leagues),…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Charleroi.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleroi | #864 | C | A | — | C | D |
| Rostraver Township | #788 | C+ | B | C | B− | B− |
| North Charleroi | — | — | A | — | C | D |
| Speers | — | — | A− | — | C | C+ |
| Fallowfield Township | #832 | C+ | A | — | C | C− |
| Twilight | — | — | — | — | — | — |
North Charleroi and Speers have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Charleroi, North Charleroi, Speers and Fallowfield Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Twilight isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Charleroi with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Charleroi grades C overall, better than 31% of U.S. towns and #864 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades D for health and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
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.
16 notable people were born here, including Shirley Jones and Olive Thomas.
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