Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,682, settled in 1862.
The best of Great Bend Township’s subject grades are a B+ for cost of living and a B for civic life; the weakest is a D for hazard risk. On hazard risk, just 68 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns do worse. Great Bend Township’s July high is 81°F, below both Pennsylvania’s towns (85°F) and U.S. towns (85°F). 31% of the land in Great Bend Township is conserved, above both Pennsylvania’s towns (8.2%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). State Game Lands Number 35, at 7,247 acres with 22.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. On history, just 163 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns do worse. Great Bend Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
1,949 counted in 2010 and 1,708 in 2020; an estimated 1,682 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Great Bend Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Great Bend 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 Great Bend Township.
32 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Great Bend Township’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. State Game Lands Number 35 | 22.8 mi | 7,247 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The FEMA risk score in Great Bend Township is 81 of 100. Since 1978, 82 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Great Bend Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Great Bend Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 21% of Great Bend Township adults smoke cigarettes.
| Great Bend Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 17% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 38% | 36% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Great Bend Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.9% | 7.7% |
| More uninsured adults | 7.7% | 5.8% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.7% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Great Bend Township for work: only 9% work in town. Jobs based in Great Bend Township grew to 405 in 2023, 51 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Binghamton (10%), Union (7%) and Kirkwood (4%).
| Great Bend Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 14% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 8.9% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Great Bend Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 81°, January nights drop to 15° and about 69 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Great Bend Township. Close and well known come first.
36 mi National Historic SiteSteamtown National Historic Site61K visitors a year
15 mi Stadium & arenaBroome County Veterans Memorial Arena17 mi Ski areaElk Mountain Ski Resort28 runs · 908 ft vertical
34 mi MuseumFrench Azilum14 mi Zoo & aquariumBinghamton Zoo at Ross Park
37 mi GardenNay Aug ParkSteamtown National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain · Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena: Bmoore2009 at English Wikipedia, Public domain · French Azilum: Nicholas A. Tonelli from Northeast Pennsylvania, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Nay Aug Park: The Mebane Greeting Card Co., Wilkes-Barre, PA., Public domain
None within 15 miles of Great Bend Township; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Great Bend Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where Great Bend Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Borough in Pennsylvania, United States
Great Bend is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States, 39 miles (63 km) north of Scranton. According to 2020 Census data, Great Bend's population was 634, down 13.6% from 2010. Great Bend sits along the Susquehanna River, less than two miles (about 3 km) from the New York State border, and is located directly off Interstate 81. Several small manufacturers also call Great Bend home. Great Bend is considered a bedroom community of the Binghamton, NY metropolitan area. Downtown Binghamton is roughly 11 miles (18 km) from Great Bend. The borough has three public parks. Billy Greenwood Memorial Park on Kilrow Avenue and Veterans' Memorial Park on Spring St. overlook the Susq…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Great Bend Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Bend Township | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | C− |
| Oakland Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New Milford Township | — | — | B− | — | C+ | C |
| Liberty Township | — | — | B− | — | B | B− |
Great Bend Township, New Milford Township and Liberty Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Great Bend Township, New Milford Township and Liberty Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Oakland Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Great Bend Township 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 B+.
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