Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2,750 people live in this town, settled in 1887.
Homes are affordable here, though not without reasons. Its weakest subject is health (C−): residents are less healthy than just over four fifths of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It also trails on hazard risk (D−): FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Where it does best is walkability (A): it is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. Cost of living is another plus: a typical home costs about $151K, 2 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income. All told, that adds up to a C+ overall, better than two fifths of U.S. towns. That places it 789th of 1032 in Pennsylvania. 14% of the land in Ford City is conserved, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 8.2% and U.S. towns at 4.3%.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · FEMA National Risk Index · USGS PAD-US.
Where Ford City beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Ford 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 Ford City is from typical.
Its best grade is an A+ for the outdoors (#49 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania; 1 mile of trail; 14% conserved land), which describes the town but isn’t part of the overall grade; its C+ comes from the livability subjects above.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,255 in 1890, a peak of 6,127 in 1930, 2,859 in 2020. The archive holds 32 old photos and papers going back to 1896 and 5 maps from 1900 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ford 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 Ford City.
Ford City has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding).
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 100% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $1,114 per resident a year; that rating is what its D− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1980, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ford City. FEMA puts 97% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding. Federal disaster aid has reached households in Ford City once, in 2004.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
One of its 2 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Divine Redeemer School PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades PK–6 | Grades PK–6 | 147 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
At 2 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home (about $151K) costs less against local pay than in 90% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
The midpoint rent for Ford City comes to $906 a month. A typical home in the town is worth about $151,000, up 0.9% in a year, 47% below the Pennsylvania typical home. Nearly two thirds of Ford City households own their home.
| Ford City | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 65% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $906 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Among adults in Ford City, 29% get no exercise outside work. In Ford City, 17% of adults report frequent physical distress, and 19% report frequent mental distress.
| Ford City | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Ford City | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 20.7% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.9% | 7.7% |
| More uninsured adults | 7.7% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Half of commuters travel less than 20 miles. In Ford City, 17% of residents live below the poverty line. Also worth knowing: only 8% of working residents stay in Ford City for work; the rest commute out. The town’s median household income is $58,000.
| Ford City | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 17% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expect July afternoons of 84° and January nights of 19°, with about 29 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The density of trails in Ford City is 0.9 miles per square mile. Count the trails in 1 park or preserve and they come to 0.7 miles. Parks and preserves locally: one, of 4 acres.
| Ford City | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 14% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ford City Memorial Park | 0.3 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Ford City; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Ford City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
8 notable people were born in Ford City.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Ford City is a borough in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, United States, 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Pittsburgh along the east bank of the Allegheny River and 4 miles (6 km) south of Kittanning, the county seat. The population was 2,859 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Ford City.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford City | #789 | C+ | A− | — | B− | C− |
| Manor Township | #311 | A− | A | A | B− | C+ |
| Lenape Heights | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| North Buffalo Township | #655 | B− | A | — | B− | B− |
| Ford Cliff | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Ford City and North Buffalo Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Lenape Heights and Ford Cliff aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Ford City with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ford City grades C+ overall, better than 40% of U.S. towns and #789 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C− for health and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
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−.
8 notable people were born here, including Mary Beck and John F. Hunter.