Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,269, settled in 1844.
Etna gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $140K for a typical one, or 1.8 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income. It grades A− overall, 313th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 77% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, it reports less crime per resident than 81% of U.S. towns. Etna’s trail density is 1.5 miles per square mile, above both the Pennsylvania town median (0.4) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Etna is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns.
Where Etna beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Etna is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,447 in 1870, a peak of 7,493 in 1930, 3,437 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1939 and 3 maps from 1953 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Etna. Close and well known come first.
Big draw5 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
5 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
5 mi Stadium & arenaPNC Park
4 mi Stadium & arenaPPG Paints Arena
9 mi Theme parkKennywood
5 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 · PPG Paints Arena: Jleedev, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kennywood: Ski2007 of English Wikipedia, Public domain · Fort Pitt: Downtown_Pittsburgh_May_2008.jpg: Allie Caufield derivative work: GrapedApe (tal, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Etna, 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 Etna.
Etna pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Pennsylvania norm and is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding).
That puts Etna below both Pennsylvania’s towns (8.2%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). 1.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Etna Public Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Etna grades A− overall with a typical home of about $140K, below the Pennsylvania typical value; only 34 of the 112 Pennsylvania towns graded A− or better can say that. At 1.8 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home (about $140K) costs less against local pay than in 93% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living.
48% of households own their home in Etna. Typical home values fell 6.2% in the year to September 2026. Etna’s median rent is $931 a month.
| Etna | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 48% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $931 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 63% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.6 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Etna is 3.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Etna | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.1 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 95% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $573 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on. 239 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 20 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1979, 239 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Etna.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Against the 7,009 U.S. towns with household incomes like Etna’s, it is healthier than 60%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income. All 3 graded neighbors score healthier than its C, from Sharpsburg (C+) to Shaler Township (A−).
27% of Etna adults have been diagnosed with depression. Etna beats the Pennsylvania average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 31% of Etna adults have high blood pressure.
| Etna | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 16% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 18% | 16% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 24% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Etna | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| More smokers | 22.3% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Etna has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 22° and about 44 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Etna has about as many jobs (1,426) as working residents, but only 77 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 999 in 2013 to 1,426.
Most working residents leave Etna for work: only 5% work in town. Since 2013, Etna has added 427 jobs, to 1,426 in 2023. The top destinations are Pittsburgh (33%), Ross Township (4%) and McCandless Township (3%).
| Etna | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $54,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 14% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Only 47.7% of households own their home, against 69.3% across Pennsylvania.
Children under 18 are 16% of residents (21% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 42% of residents (38% statewide). Etna has lost 4.8% of its people since 2020, down to 3,269 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 26% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Pennsylvania.
| Etna | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 16% | 20% | 22% |
| Median age | 42.6 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 29% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 20% | 21% | 18% |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.6 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Etna | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.8% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 5.1% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.3% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.6% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.3% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.8% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.2% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.1% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 34% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 23.4% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.3% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.9% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.3% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,300, single groups can be off by several points
16 within 15 miles of the center of Etna
About 6 of every 100 Etna residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
9 notable people were born in Etna.
3 towns share a border with Etna.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etna | #313 | A− | A− | A− | A− | C |
| Shaler Township | #55 | A+ | C+ | A | A− | A− |
| Sharpsburg | #355 | A− | B | B | A+ | C+ |
| Pittsburgh | #928 | C− | B− | D | C | B+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Etna grades A− overall, better than 81% of U.S. towns and #313 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C for health, A− for safety and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
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−.
9 notable people were born here, including John Abramovic and Lee Donaldson.
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