Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2.4 times the nonprofits per person than the typical Pennsylvania town.
Where it does best is cost of living: a typical home costs about $243K, 3.2 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income. Ligonier Township’s overall grade of A− puts it better than three quarters of U.S. towns, 394th of 1032 in Pennsylvania. Health is a strength too (B+): residents are healthier than 68% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. The drawback is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 55% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. The biggest place to walk is State Game Lands Number 42, 4,106 acres with 16.8 miles of trail. On civic life, just 2 of Pennsylvania’s 1,717 towns do better. 31% of residents are 65 or older locally, against 21% in Pennsylvania’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. The town has 1 place on the National Register.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenStreetMap · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Ligonier Township beats most towns.
Compass InnCensus counts: 294 in 1840, a peak of 2,276 in 1960, 1,513 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 4 maps from 1913 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Ligonier Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ligonier 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 Ligonier Township.
In 7 parks and preserves, walkers have 55 miles of trail. Ligonier Township’s density of trails comes in at 0.6 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. State Game Lands Number 42 | 16.8 mi | 4,106 |
| 2. Forbes State Forest | 8 mi | 1,060 |
| 3. Laurel Mountain State Park | 2.8 mi | 472 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Ligonier Valley SD runs its public schools. The largest public high school is Ligonier Valley HS, with 434 students. Below: Two of its 3 schools, each with why it was picked.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mellon El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 395 | B− |
| Ligonier Valley HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 434 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
The top destinations are Unity Township (9%), Ligonier (6%) and Latrobe (6%). Most people who work leave Ligonier Township to do it: just 14% work in town. The median commute is under 17 miles.
| Ligonier Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 14% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 11% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 9.8% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Ligonier Township’s midpoint age stands at 54.3 years. People 65 and older are 31% of residents (20% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 13% of residents (22% statewide). The share of residents in Ligonier Township who are under 18: 15%. Just over a third of adults 25 and older hold at least a bachelor’s degree, against 35% across Pennsylvania.
| Ligonier Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 54.3 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 31% | 21% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 15% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 29% | 29% |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.5 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women. Among residents 45 to 54, 59% are men (PA 50%).
| Ligonier Township | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.7% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.5% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.5% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 7.7% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.2% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 22.3% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.8% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.5% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.8% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.1% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.5% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.1% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Among adults in Ligonier Township, 14% report frequent mental distress. CDC measures, 26 in all: Ligonier Township beats Pennsylvania on 5 and trails on 7.
| Ligonier Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 79% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 34% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | Ligonier Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults in frequent mental distress | 14.2% | 16.4% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 84.5% | 79.2% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.1% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Summer afternoons peak near 83° in July, and January nights bottom out around 20°; snowfall runs to about 65 inches a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
203 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 32 properties have flooded more than once.
Flood insurance has paid out on 203 claims in Ligonier Township since 1978. Of the losses FEMA expects in the town, 93% come from inland flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For households in Ligonier Township, the share who are owner-occupiers is 86%. In Ligonier Township, the median rent is $1,075 a month.
| Ligonier Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 86% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,075 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ligonier Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw26 mi MuseumFallingwater
Big draw20 mi National MemorialFlight 93 National Memorial286K visitors a year
36 mi Theme parkKennywoodin town Theme parkIdlewild and Soak Zone
in town MuseumFort Ligonier
31 mi MountainMount DavisFallingwater: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Flight 93 National Memorial: James Steakley, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kennywood: Ski2007 of English Wikipedia, Public domain · Fort Ligonier: The original uploader was Mind meal at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mount Davis: Wikiuser100, CC BY-SA 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Ligonier Township
About 2 of every 100 Ligonier Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where Ligonier Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Ligonier is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,513 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Ligonier was settled in the 1760s. Ligonier is the site of a reconstruction of Fort Ligonier, a frontier fort of the French and Indian War.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Ligonier Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ligonier Township | #394 | A− | B+ | — | B | B+ |
| Jenner Township | #659 | B− | B+ | — | B | C |
| Derry Township | #467 | B+ | A− | — | B+ | C+ |
| Unity Township | #253 | A | B | — | A | B |
| Lincoln Township | — | — | A | — | B+ | C |
| Cook Township | — | — | A− | — | B | B |
| Fairfield Township | — | — | A | — | B | B− |
Lincoln Township, Cook Township and Fairfield Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Ligonier Township, Jenner Township, Derry Township, Unity Township, Lincoln Township, Cook Township and Fairfield Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Ligonier Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Ligonier Township grades A− overall, better than 75% of U.S. towns and #394 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B+ for health and B for schools.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $243,000, 15% 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 B+.
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