Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
On cost of living it is strong: a typical home costs about $180K, 2.4 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income. The catch is health (C+): CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 63% of the country. It lags on incomes as well: the median household income is $66K, and 14% of residents live below the poverty line. All told, that adds up to a B+ overall and a rank of 467th of 1032 in Pennsylvania. Set against the rest, it does better than 69% of U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Keystone State Park, 1,170 acres with 7.8 miles of trail. Derry Township has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Samuel Patterson House and Western Division-Pennsylvania Canal. Only 105 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns score higher on hazard risk.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenStreetMap · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Derry Township beats most towns.
Where Derry Township’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 Derry Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 755 in 1880, a peak of 3,752 in 1950, 2,639 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and a map from 1900 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Derry 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 Derry Township.
83% of Derry Township’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding. Expected damage from storms and floods is lower here than in 95% of U.S. communities. Paid flood insurance claims here since 1996: 7.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Derry Area SD runs its public schools. The largest public high school is Derry Area SHS, with 598 students. Of its 6 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grandview El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 753 | B |
| Derry Area SHSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 598 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Half commute less than 13 miles. 7.6% of Derry Township workers work from home. The top destinations are Unity Township (10%), Latrobe (8%) and Hempfield Township (6%).
| Derry Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 7.6% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $66,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Walkers can cover 39 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. Derry Township’s density of trails is 0.4 miles per square mile, against 0.5 in Pennsylvania’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns.
| Derry Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 5.6% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Keystone State Park | 7.8 mi | 1,170 |
| 2. Lake Ethel Natural Area | 0.5 mi | 30 |
| 3. Forbes State Forest | 0.1 mi | 1,101 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
In July, afternoons reach 83°; in January, nights fall to 21°, and about 48 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
19% of adults smoke cigarettes in Derry Township. Two figures for adults here: 40% sleep under 7 hours, 15% report frequent physical distress.
| Derry Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Derry Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.9% | 7.7% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9% | 7.4% |
| More adults with arthritis | 36.6% | 30.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Derry Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw33 mi MuseumFallingwater
Big draw30 mi National MemorialFlight 93 National Memorial286K visitors a year
Big draw37 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
29 mi Theme parkKennywood
37 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
37 mi Stadium & arenaPNC ParkFallingwater: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Flight 93 National Memorial: James Steakley, CC BY-SA 3.0 · 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
4 within 15 miles of the center of Derry Township
About 3 of every 100 Derry Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
There are also four Derry Townships in Pennsylvania. Derry is a borough in Westmoreland County in Pennsylvania, 45 miles (72 km) east of Pittsburgh. The Borough of Derry, consisting of the town area, should not be confused with Derry Township, which is a separate municipality surrounding the borough. The population was 2,637 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Derry Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derry Township | #467 | B+ | A− | — | B+ | C+ |
| Unity Township | #253 | A | B | — | A | B |
| Latrobe | #210 | A | A | B | A | B− |
| Burrell Township | #615 | B | A− | — | B | C |
| Ligonier Township | #394 | A− | B+ | — | B | B+ |
| Fairfield Township | — | — | A | — | B | B− |
| Conemaugh Township | — | — | B | — | B | B− |
| Salem Township | #166 | A | A | — | B− | B |
Fairfield Township and Conemaugh Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Derry Township, Unity Township, Burrell Township, Ligonier Township, Fairfield Township, Conemaugh Township and Salem Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Derry Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Derry Township grades B+ overall, better than 69% of U.S. towns and #467 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C+ for health 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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