Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The best of Emporium’s subject grades are an A for walkability and history and an A− for cost of living; the weakest is a D for health. 37% of working residents work locally in Emporium, above both Pennsylvania’s towns (6.3%) and U.S. towns (8%). On incomes, just 22 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns do worse. Emporium’s concentration of trails is 1.9 miles per square mile, against 0.4 in Pennsylvania’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Cameron County Courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. Emporium has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Emporium beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Cameron County Courthouse| Widest gap | Emporium | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 13.7% | 7.7% |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Emporium is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 898 in 1870, a peak of 3,775 in 1940, 1,923 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 4 maps from 1948 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Emporium, 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 Emporium.
Among households in Emporium, 57% are owner-occupiers. Over the 12 months to September 2026, the typical home lost 10% of its value. The typical Emporium home is worth about $107,000, down 10.2% in a year, 63% below the Pennsylvania typical home.
| Emporium | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $678 a month | $1,115 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its two schools are below. 2 public schools serve Emporium, with 436 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 224 | B+ |
| Cameron County JSHSLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 212 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Emporium: 40% of adults have obesity. Among 1,036 Pennsylvania towns, just 5 have a higher share of adults who smoke cigarettes than Emporium.
| Emporium | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 17% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 19% | 19% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Emporium | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.7% | 79.2% |
| More adults with COPD | 13.7% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
One declared disaster, in 2004, has brought federal aid to Emporium households. Expected damage from storms and floods is higher here than in 72% of U.S. communities. Paid flood insurance claims locally since 1996: 5. Of the losses FEMA expects locally, 86% come from inland flooding.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical July afternoon high in Emporium is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The top destinations are St. Marys (12%), Shippen Township (10%) and Warren (1%). One in 3 of Emporium’s working residents works locally. The town’s average trip to work stands at 17 minutes. For half of commuters, work is under 16 miles away.
| Emporium | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $43,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Emporium's reported crime rate is well below Pennsylvania's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. No violent crimes were reported in 2025. In Emporium, the rate of thefts and burglaries is 4.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Emporium | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
In 3 parks and preserves, walkers have 1.3 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cameron County Court House | — | 2 |
| 2. Front Street Park | — | 1 |
| 3. Community Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Emporium; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Emporium residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Borough in the United States
Emporium is a borough and the county seat of Cameron County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Early in the twentieth century, there were large power plants and manufacturers of radio tubes and incandescent lamps (Sylvania Electric Products), paving brick, flour, iron, lumber, and sole leather. In 1900, 2,463 people lived in Emporium, and in 1910, the population was 2,916. By 2010, the population had dropped to 2,073, and at the 2020 census, the population was 1,961.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Emporium.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emporium | — | — | A− | — | A− | D |
| Prospect Park | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Emporium has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Emporium reports no FBI crime data of its own. Prospect Park isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Emporium 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−.