Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kittanning gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $101K for a typical one, or 1.3 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income. It grades B overall, 624th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 85% of the country. On the plus side, it is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 3 places on the National Register. 21% of residents live below the poverty line in Kittanning, above both Pennsylvania’s towns (7.6%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). On history, just 174 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns do better. The biggest park or preserve is Community Park, at 69 acres.
Where Kittanning beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Armstrong County Courthouse and Jail
Census counts: 309 in 1810, a peak of 7,808 in 1930, 3,921 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 5 maps from 1900 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Kittanning is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Kittanning, 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 Kittanning.
Kittanning is healthier than towns with similar incomes and 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 $779 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Only 4 of the 1,037 Pennsylvania towns we compare have a higher FEMA risk score than Kittanning. Since 1980, 40 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Kittanning.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelphoi Education at Kittanning PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 8–12 | Grades 8–12 | 71 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Against the 6,361 U.S. towns with household incomes like Kittanning’s, it is less healthy than 67%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income. All 3 graded neighbors score healthier than its D, from East Franklin Township (C+) to Manor Township (C+).
22% of adults smoke cigarettes in Kittanning. Kittanning beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Kittanning.
| Kittanning | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 35% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Kittanning | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21.3% | 14.5% |
| More uninsured adults | 8.5% | 5.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.9% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Kittanning has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 35 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Pennsylvania has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Kittanning sits closer to the middle.
| Kittanning | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 5.7 per 1,000 residents | 6.8 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 1.8 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Kittanning for work: only 14% work in town. The median household income in Kittanning is $52,000. Since 2013, Kittanning has added 186 jobs, to 1,879 in 2023.
| Kittanning | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $52,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Kittanning | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.5% | 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. Community Park | — | 69 |
| 2. Kittanning Riverfront Park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 1.3 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 97% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its A for cost of living.
50% of Kittanning households own their home.
| Kittanning | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 50% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $705 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Kittanning; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Kittanning residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
3 places in Kittanning on the National Register of Historic Places.
29 notable people were born in Kittanning.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Kittanning ( ki-TAN-ing) is a borough in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is situated 36 miles (58 km) northeast of Pittsburgh, along the east bank of the Allegheny River. The population was 3,921 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from Kithanink, which means 'on the main river' in Lenape or the Delaware language, from kit- 'big' + hane 'mountain river' + -ink (suffix used in place names). "The main river" is a Lenape term for the Allegheny and Ohio combined, which they considered as all one river. The borough and its bridge have been used as a setting for several films.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Kittanning.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kittanning | #624 | B | A | B | B− | D |
| Rayburn Township | — | — | A+ | — | B− | C+ |
| Manor Township | #311 | A− | A | A | B− | C+ |
| East Franklin Township | #535 | B | A | — | B− | C+ |
| West Hills | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Rayburn Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Rayburn Township and East Franklin Township report no FBI crime data of their own. West Hills isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Kittanning with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Kittanning grades B overall, better than 56% of U.S. towns and #624 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades D for health, B for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes, by national standards. Pennsylvania has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Kittanning sits nearer the middle.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $101,000, 65% below the Pennsylvania typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
29 notable people were born here, including Richard Hartshorne and Charles Hartshorne.
