Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ellwood City gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $159K, 2.1 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income. It grades A− overall, ranked 293rd of 1032 in Pennsylvania. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 84% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Stiefel Park, at 31 acres. Ellwood City’s median rent is $865 a month, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at $1,116 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month.
Where Ellwood City beats most towns.
Where Ellwood City’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 Ellwood City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,243 in 1900, a peak of 12,945 in 1950, 7,642 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 5 maps from 1902 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ellwood City, 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 Ellwood City.
Ellwood City pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Pennsylvania norm, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has seen reported crime fall by about half.
Ellwood City grades A− overall with a typical home of about $159K, below the Pennsylvania typical value; only 34 of the 112 Pennsylvania towns graded A− or better can say that. At 2.1 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home (about $159K) costs less against local pay than in 89% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living.
The typical Ellwood City home is worth about $159,000, up 0.8% in a year, 45% below the Pennsylvania typical home.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by Ellwood City Area SD. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Lincoln JSHS, with 682 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Side Primary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–2 | Grades K–2 | 376 | – |
| Lincoln JSHSLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 682 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Jobs based here fell from 3,315 in 2013 to 2,149.
Most working residents leave Ellwood City for work: only 12% work in town. Since 2013, Ellwood City has lost 1,166 jobs, to 2,149 in 2023. The median household income in Ellwood City is $67,000.
| Ellwood City | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 11% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Ellwood City has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 20° and about 28 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Reported crimes fell from 98 to 40 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 5 reported in 2025, 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
Pennsylvania has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Ellwood City sits closer to the middle.
| Ellwood City | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.8 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Stiefel Park | — | 31 |
| 2. Ewing Park | — | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1990, 38 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ellwood City.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 10,229 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ellwood City’s, it is healthier than 64%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
44% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Ellwood City.
| Ellwood City | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 24% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Ellwood City | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 17.9% | 14.5% |
| More adults sleeping under 7 hours | 43.9% | 37.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.8% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ellwood City. Close and well known come first.
Big draw32 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
32 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
32 mi Stadium & arenaPNC Park
40 mi Theme parkKennywood
33 mi Stadium & arenaPPG Paints Arena
32 mi LandmarkFort PittAcrisure Stadium: Fo2grfr, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Duquesne: Sébastien Paquin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · PNC Park: alpineinc, CC BY 2.0 · Kennywood: Ski2007 of English Wikipedia, Public domain · PPG Paints Arena: Jleedev, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Pitt: Downtown_Pittsburgh_May_2008.jpg: Allie Caufield derivative work: GrapedApe (tal, CC BY 2.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Ellwood City
About 2 of every 100 Ellwood City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
14 notable people were born in Ellwood City.
Borough of Pennsylvania, US
Ellwood City is a borough primarily in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a small district extending into Beaver County, it lies along the Connoquenessing Creek just east of its confluence with the Beaver River. The population was 7,642 at the 2020 census. Ellwood City lies 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Pittsburgh and 8 miles (13 km) southeast of New Castle within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Ellwood City.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellwood City | #293 | A− | A | B+ | B | B− |
| Wayne Township | — | — | A | — | B | C+ |
| North Sewickley Township | #165 | A | A− | A | A− | B− |
| Frisco | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wayne Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Wayne Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Frisco isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ellwood City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Ellwood City grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #293 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B− for health, B+ for safety and B for schools.
Yes, by national standards. Pennsylvania has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Ellwood City sits nearer the middle.
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.
14 notable people were born here, including Jim Gerlach and Hack Wilson.
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