Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lewistown earns a D, ranked 992nd of 1032 in Pennsylvania, mostly because of health and incomes. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 95% of the country. The median household income is $40K, and 36% of residents live below the poverty line. It also has a long history, with 5 places on the National Register. 36% of residents live below the poverty line in Lewistown, above both the Pennsylvania town median (7.6%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). On hazard risk, just 91 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns do worse. Its National Register listings include McCoy House and Mifflin County Courthouse.
Where Lewistown beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 523 in 1800, a peak of 13,894 in 1950, 8,579 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 3 maps from 1924 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Lewistown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lewistown, 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 Lewistown.
Lewistown 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).
2.6 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The trail density in Lewistown is 1.3 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Rec Park, 29 acres with 1.2 miles of trail.
| Lewistown | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.3 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.2% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rec Park | 1.2 mi | 29 |
| 2. Memorial Park | 1.2 mi | 26 |
| 3. Green Gables Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Mifflin County SD. One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mifflin Co MSLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–7 | Grades 6–7 | 733 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Against the 2,459 U.S. towns with household incomes like Lewistown’s, it is less healthy than 74%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
26% of Lewistown adults smoke cigarettes. Lewistown beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 17. 34% of Lewistown adults get no exercise outside work.
| Lewistown | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 19% | 19% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Lewistown | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 11.7% | 5.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 27.6% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 12.7% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 2.7 years of the Lewistown area’s $64K median household income, the typical home (about $171K) costs less against local pay than in 76% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its B+ for cost of living. Home values rose 45% in five years, to about $171K, against 23% across Pennsylvania.
40% of households own their home in Lewistown. Typical home values rose 4.6% in the year to September 2026. Lewistown’s median rent is $797 a month.
| Lewistown | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 40% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $797 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 96% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $479 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1978, 70 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lewistown.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Lewistown has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 22° and about 26 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Lewistown has about as many jobs (3,051) as working residents, but only 456 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Lewistown for work: only 13% work in town. Since 2013, Lewistown has lost 203 jobs, to 3,051 in 2023. The top destinations are Granville Township (10%), Derry Township (9%) and Armagh Township (4%).
| Lewistown | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $40,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 7.8% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Lewistown's reported crime rate is below Pennsylvania's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 9 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Lewistown | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 12.3 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
None within 15 miles of Lewistown; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Lewistown residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
5 places in Lewistown on the National Register of Historic Places.
21 notable people were born in Lewistown.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Lewistown is a borough in and the county seat of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the principal city of the Lewistown, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Mifflin County. It lies along the Juniata River, 61 miles (98 km) northwest of Harrisburg. The number of people living in the borough in 1900 was 4,451; in 1910, 8,166; in 1940, 13,017; and in 2000, 8,998. The population was 8,561 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Lewistown.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewistown | #992 | D | B+ | — | C | D− |
| Granville Township | #947 | C− | B+ | C+ | C | D |
| Derry Township | #882 | C | B+ | — | C | C− |
| Highland Park | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Lewistown and Derry Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Highland Park isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Lewistown with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lewistown grades D overall, better than 12% of U.S. towns and #992 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades D− for health and C for schools. Health 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 B+.
21 notable people were born here, including Trent Hidlay and Adam Harris.
