Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 18,813, settled in 1791.
Ferguson Township is one of the best-graded places in America: an A, 116th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania. Its public schools beat 92% of Pennsylvania towns on state tests and graduation, CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 87% of the country, and crime is low: it reports less per resident than 84% of U.S. towns. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $405K for a typical one and 5.4 times the State College metro’s $74K median household income. 65% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Ferguson Township, above both the Pennsylvania town median (29%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Ferguson Township is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 97% of U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 80 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns do better.
Where Ferguson Township beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,601 in 1850, 19,009 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 1874 and 3 maps from 1963 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Ferguson Township is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 9%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ferguson 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 Ferguson Township.
Ferguson Township is shaped by its college students, keeps more of its land conserved than most of Pennsylvania and is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s.
Its 9,895 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 92% of Pennsylvania towns.
74 miles of trail in 19 parks and preserves. Ferguson Township’s trail density is 1.6 miles per square mile. Rothrock State Forest, at 2,842 acres with 33.7 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rothrock State Forest | 33.7 mi | 2,842 |
| 2. State Game Lands Number 176 | 6.6 mi | 1,709 |
| 3. The Arboretum at Penn State | 2.8 mi | 106 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $405K.
Three of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Young Scholars of Central PA CSLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 321 | C+ |
| Grace Prep High School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 59 | – |
| Ferguson Twp El SchTop results in townGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 287 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 96% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ferguson Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its widest gap with Pennsylvania is tooth loss: 8.9% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 14.5% statewide.
27% of adults have high blood pressure in Ferguson Township. Ferguson Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 13 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 11% of adults report frequent physical distress in Ferguson Township.
| Ferguson Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 34% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 14% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.3% | 11% | 12% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | Ferguson Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.9% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults with diabetes | 8.3% | 11.6% |
| Fewer adults getting cholesterol checked | 81.2% | 85.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 7.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 67% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 16 reported in 2025, 0.8 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Ferguson Township is 3.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Ferguson Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.7 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.8 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Ferguson Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 19° and about 44 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Ferguson Township has about as many jobs (7,294) as working residents, but only 744 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 16.2 minutes, against 26.3 across Pennsylvania.
18% of Ferguson Township residents live below the poverty line. Most working residents leave Ferguson Township for work: only 11% work in town. 22% of Ferguson Township workers work from home.
| Ferguson Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 18% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 22% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ferguson Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw7 mi Stadium & arenaBeaver Stadium
6 mi Stadium & arenaBryce Jordan Center
22 mi LakeRaystown Lake
30 mi Theme parkLakemont Park
35 mi National Historic SiteAllegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site163K visitors a year
6 mi MuseumPalmer Museum of ArtBeaver Stadium: Sbvr6 (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bryce Jordan Center: Robert J. La Verghetta, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Raystown Lake: Tex Jobe, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Public domain · Lakemont Park: Bhakta Dano. Original uploader was Oldano at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site: Matthew A. Lynn; Original uploader was Mosamiazaz at en.wikipedia, Public domain · Palmer Museum of Art: PalmerMuseumofArt, CC BY-SA 4.0
3 within 15 miles of the center of Ferguson Township
College town 20 of every 100 Ferguson Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
32.6% of the town is conserved land, across 19 parks and preserves.
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Ferguson Township is a township with home rule status in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 19,009 at the 2020 census. Most of the agricultural research for Penn State, based in adjacent State College, Pennsylvania, is taking place at the Russell E. Larson Research Center located in the western part of Ferguson Township. AccuWeather, CATA, and Minitab are all headquartered within the township. Ferguson Township is served by the Ferguson Township Police Department and the Alpha Fire Company for police and fire protection.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Ferguson Township.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; College Township (A) comes closest.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferguson Township | #116 | A | D | A− | A | A |
| State College | – | A− | D | B | A | B+ |
| Barree Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Franklin Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| College Township | #161 | A | C− | — | A | A− |
| Patton Township | #178 | A | D | B+ | A | A |
| Baileyville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Halfmoon Township | #198 | A | C+ | — | A | A |
College Township and Halfmoon Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Barree Township, Franklin Township and Baileyville aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ferguson Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Ferguson Township grades A overall, better than 95% of U.S. towns and #116 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades A for health, A− for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
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