Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Frackville gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $156K for a typical one, or 2.3 years of the Pottsville area’s $68K median household income. It grades B overall, 525th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania. On the plus side, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 86% of U.S. towns. 19% of residents live below the poverty line in Frackville, against 7.6% in Pennsylvania’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. On civic life, just 94 of Pennsylvania’s 1,717 towns do worse.
Where Frackville beats most towns.
Where Frackville’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 Frackville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,707 in 1880, a peak of 8,035 in 1940, 3,860 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1889 and 5 maps from 1892 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Frackville, 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 Frackville.
Frackville has fewer 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s.
At 6.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 71% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
Frackville’s violent crime rate is 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Frackville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 89% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Frackville.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 2.3 years of the Pottsville area’s $68K median household income, the typical home (about $157K) costs less against local pay than in 86% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living.
The median rent in Frackville is $815 a month. The typical Frackville home is worth about $157,000, about the same as a year ago, 45% below the Pennsylvania typical home.
| Frackville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $815 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 78% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Frackville has 520 jobs for its 1,774 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here fell from 762 in 2013 to 520.
Most working residents leave Frackville for work: only 5% work in town. Jobs based in Frackville fell to 520 in 2023, 242 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Pottsville (7%), Butler Township (5%) and Cass Township (4%).
| Frackville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $57,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.2% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 7,977 U.S. towns with household incomes like Frackville’s, it is healthier than 55%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Frackville beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 15% of Frackville adults report frequent physical distress.
| Frackville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Frackville | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 8.5% | 5.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.9% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.7% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Mahanoy City 2 N weather station, 6 miles away, records that about 2 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 95% of U.S. towns.
Frackville has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 79°, January nights drop to 17° and about 48 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Frackville | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.8% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Frackville Memorial Park | — | 6 |
| 2. Arch Street Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Frackville. Close and well known come first.
39 mi Theme parkDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
20 mi Park & preserveRoadside America
38 mi State parkRicketts Glen State Park
16 mi Park & preserveHawk Mountain Sanctuary35 mi Stadium & arenaSovereign CenterDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom: Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Roadside America: Mark Fleisher, President and CEO of Aim Advertising in Lewisburg, PA,, Public domain · Ricketts Glen State Park: en:User:Msitler, Public domain · Hawk Mountain Sanctuary: Zeete, CC BY-SA 4.0
1 within 15 miles of the center of Frackville
About 3 of every 100 Frackville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Frackville is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, Frackville had a population of 3,860. Incorporated in 1876, Frackville is located at the intersection of Interstate 81 and Pennsylvania State Route 61, which is approximately 102 miles (164 km) northwest of Philadelphia and 60 miles (97 km) southwest of Scranton. Frackville is named for Daniel Frack, an early Anglo-American settler.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Frackville.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frackville | #525 | B | B+ | A | C+ | C |
| West Mahanoy Township | #828 | C+ | A− | A− | C− | C− |
| Englewood | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Altamont | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Butler Township | #720 | B− | B | A+ | C+ | C |
Englewood and Altamont aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Frackville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Frackville grades B overall, better than 65% of U.S. towns and #525 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C for health, A for safety and C+ for schools.
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 B+.
2 notable people were born here, including Ben Houser and Roy Caton.
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