Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,622, settled in 1847.
Cressona’s best subject grades are an A− for cost of living, civic life, and history. Cressona is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 70% of U.S. towns. On civic life, just 142 of Pennsylvania’s 1,717 towns do better. Cressona has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Cressona beats most towns.
Where Cressona’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Cressona is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 876 in 1860, 1,601 in 2020. The archive holds 14 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 6 maps from 1889 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cressona, 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 Cressona.
Most working residents leave Cressona for work: only 6% work in town. Since 2013, Cressona has added 202 jobs, to 1,663 in 2023. 5.1% of Cressona residents live below the poverty line, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 7.6% and U.S. towns at 9.6%.
| Cressona | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 5.1% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $74,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Cressona home is worth about $193,000, up 6.4% in a year, 33% below the Pennsylvania typical home. Cressona’s median rent is $945 a month, below both Pennsylvania’s towns ($1,115 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month).
| Cressona | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $945 a month | $1,115 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 78% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Cressona has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 20° and about 30 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 65% of U.S. communities. Since 1982, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Cressona.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Cressona beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 18% of adults smoke cigarettes in Cressona.
| Cressona | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 36% |
| What stands out | Cressona | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More smokers | 18.4% | 15.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.7% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Veterans Memorial Park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cressona. Close and well known come first.
34 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year24 mi Theme parkKnoebels Amusement Resort
35 mi Theme parkDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
9 mi Park & preserveRoadside America
34 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark Stadium
34 mi MuseumHershey's Chocolate WorldHersheypark: Michael Gray, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom: Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Roadside America: Mark Fleisher, President and CEO of Aim Advertising in Lewisburg, PA,, Public domain · Hersheypark Stadium: 45BearsFan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hershey's Chocolate World: Phillyfan0419, CC BY-SA 3.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Cressona
About 2 of every 100 Cressona residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Cressona is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, Cressona had a population of 1,601. Formed in 1857 from part of North Manheim Township, it was founded by and named for John Chapman Cresson, a Philadelphia civil engineer and manager of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, president of the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven Railroad, and the chief engineer of Fairmount Park in Philadelphia.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Cressona.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cressona | — | — | A− | — | B+ | C+ |
| North Manheim Township | #607 | B | B | — | B+ | C+ |
| Schuylkill Haven | #683 | B− | B+ | B+ | C | C |
Cressona has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Cressona and North Manheim Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Cressona 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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