Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,836.
Cook Township’s best subject grades are an A− for cost of living and an A for history and civic life. 38% of the land in Cook Township is conserved, above both the Pennsylvania town median (8.2%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest place to walk is Forbes State Forest, 5,576 acres with 26 miles of trail. On civic life, just 94 of Pennsylvania’s 1,717 towns do better. Cook Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Cook Township beats most towns.
Linn Run State Park Family Cabin District2,250 counted in 2010 and 1,896 in 2020; an estimated 1,836 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Cook Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1857.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Cook 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 Cook Township.
Walkers can cover 45 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. Cook Township’s trail network density is 1.0 miles per square mile, above both Pennsylvania’s towns (0.4) and U.S. towns (0.4).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Forbes State Forest | 26 mi | 5,576 |
| 2. Powdermill Nature Reserve | 6.6 mi | 2,000 |
| 3. Linn Run State Park | 3.7 mi | 615 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The FEMA hazard score in Cook Township is 15 of 100. Paid flood insurance claims locally since 1985: 14. Also worth knowing: of the losses FEMA expects locally, 88% come from inland flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The top destinations are Donegal Township (8%), Unity Township (7%) and Hempfield Township (6%). Only 3% of working residents stay in Cook Township for work; the rest commute out. Its mean commuting time stands at 32 minutes. The median commute is under 16 miles.
| Cook Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 5.7% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.8% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
People 65 and older are 30% of residents (20% statewide); children under 18 are 14% of residents (21% statewide). In Cook Township, the midpoint age is 52.8 years. Here, a third of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree, against 35% in Pennsylvania as a whole. 1,836 people lived in Cook Township by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate, 2.8% fewer than in 2020.
| Cook Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 52.8 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 30% | 21% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 14% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 29% | 29% |
45% women, 55% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±9.3 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women. Among residents 25 to 34, 84% are men (PA 51%).
| Cook Township | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.4% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.4% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.4% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.5% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.9% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.6% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.3% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 22.2% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.2% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.3% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.5% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 10.3% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 13.4% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.9% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.6% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,800, single groups can be off by several points
A winter brings about 48 inches of snow, with January nights at 20° and July afternoons at 83°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among adults in Cook Township, 39% have high blood pressure and 15% report frequent mental distress. Against the Pennsylvania average, Cook Township comes out ahead on 3 CDC measures out of 26, and behind on 7. 5.8% of Cook Township adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
| Cook Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 79% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 34% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | Cook Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 84.5% | 79.2% |
| More adults getting a yearly checkup | 82.2% | 78.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.8% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cook Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi MuseumFallingwater
Big draw21 mi National MemorialFlight 93 National Memorial286K visitors a year
34 mi Theme parkKennywood
27 mi MountainMount Davis7 mi Theme parkIdlewild and Soak Zone
6 mi MuseumFort LigonierFallingwater: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Flight 93 National Memorial: James Steakley, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kennywood: Ski2007 of English Wikipedia, Public domain · Mount Davis: Wikiuser100, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Ligonier: The original uploader was Mind meal at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Cook Township
About 5 of every 100 Cook Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
Where Cook Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Cook Township is a township in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,888 at the 2020 census, a decrease from 2,250 at the 2010 census, and 2,403 at the 2000 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Cook Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook Township | — | — | A− | — | B | B |
| Donegal Township | — | — | B+ | — | B− | C+ |
| Jefferson Township | — | — | C | — | B+ | C |
| Unity Township | #253 | A | B | — | A | B |
| Lincoln Township | — | — | A | — | B+ | C |
| Ligonier Township | #394 | A− | B+ | — | B | B+ |
Cook Township, Donegal Township, Jefferson Township and Lincoln Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Cook Township, Donegal Township, Jefferson Township, Unity Township, Lincoln Township and Ligonier Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Cook 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 A−.
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