Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Cresson Township’s overall A puts it 244th of 1032 in Pennsylvania. Set against the rest, it does better than 87% of U.S. towns. Its best grade is for hazard risk (A+). A typical home there costs about $167K, 2.9 years of the Johnstown metro’s $58K median household income. Safety is another plus: it reports less crime per resident than 91% of U.S. towns. The town is home to Mount Aloysius College. On history, just 129 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns do worse. Benjamin F. Jones Cottage is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Figures: FEMA National Risk Index · FBI crime data, 2025 · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Cresson Township beats most towns.
Benjamin F. Jones Cottage
Census counts: 1,470 in 1910, a peak of 2,659 in 1960, 1,525 in 2020. The archive holds 44 old photos and papers going back to 1870 and 4 maps from 1902 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Cresson Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cresson Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw30 mi National MemorialFlight 93 National Memorial286K visitors a year
in town National Historic SiteAllegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site163K visitors a year
12 mi DamSouth Fork Dam
10 mi Theme parkLakemont Park
30 mi LakeRaystown Lake
11 mi Ski areaBlue Knob24 runs · 1,007 ft verticalFlight 93 National Memorial: James Steakley, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site: Matthew A. Lynn; Original uploader was Mosamiazaz at en.wikipedia, Public domain · South Fork Dam: Ernest Walter Histed, Public domain · Lakemont Park: Bhakta Dano. Original uploader was Oldano at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Raystown Lake: Tex Jobe, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Public domain · Blue Knob: Calzarette, CC BY 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cresson 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 Cresson Township.
Cresson Township is shaped by its college students, gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
Since 1994, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cresson Township. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 64% come from inland flooding and 9% from tornadoes. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 99% of U.S. communities.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its one school is below. Public schools: Penn Cambria SD. 103 students attend Cresson Township’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Cambria Pre-PrimaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–K | Grades PK–K | 103 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
For Cresson Township, the rate of thefts and burglaries is 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Cresson Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
In 3 parks and preserves, walkers have 7.8 miles of trail. The biggest park or preserve is State Game Lands Number 198, at 561 acres. Cresson Township’s trail density stands at 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. State Game Lands Number 198 | — | 561 |
| 2. Veterans Park | — | 11 |
| 3. Admiral Peary Park | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Ebensburg Sewage Plt weather station, 8 miles away, records that 80 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. The Ebensburg Sewage Plt weather station, 8 miles away, records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 95% of U.S. towns.
Expect chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers in Cresson Township. July afternoons reach 77° and January nights drop to 17°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Among residents in Cresson Township, 15% live below the poverty line. For most workers, Cresson Township is a place to come home to: only 6% work in town. The town had 822 jobs in 2023, down 128 from 2013. Half commute less than 11 miles.
| Cresson Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.5% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 9,370 U.S. towns with household incomes like Cresson Township’s, it is healthier than 75%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
In Cresson Township, 19% of adults binge drink. This Pennsylvania town tracks Pennsylvania closely on all 26 CDC measures.
| Cresson Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 24% | 23% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
3 within 15 miles of the center of Cresson Township
College town 22 of every 100 Cresson Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
4,336 counted in 2010 and 2,839 in 2020; an estimated 2,809 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Cresson is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. Cresson is 80 miles (130 km) east of Pittsburgh. It is above 2,000 feet (600 m) in elevation. Lumber, coal, and coke yards were industries that had supported the population. The borough is part of the Johnstown Metropolitan Statistical Area, although state and local sources list it as part of the Altoona area due to being much closer to that city. As of the 2020 census, Cresson had a population of 1,525. The location was named in 1854 as a memorial to philanthropist Elliott Cresson. Railroads, beginning with the Allegheny Portage Railroad, fueled the growth of the area. Many famous Pittsburgh businessmen, including Charles…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Cresson Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cresson Township | #244 | A | A− | A | B− | B− |
| Allegheny Township | #801 | C+ | B− | C− | A− | B− |
| Munster Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tunnelhill | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Juniata Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Gallitzin Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Washington Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Allegheny Township | #218 | A | A− | — | B− | B+ |
Allegheny Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Munster Township, Tunnelhill, Juniata Township, Gallitzin Township and Washington Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Cresson Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Cresson Township grades A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns and #244 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B− for health, A for safety and B− for schools.
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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