Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Mars’ best subject grade is an A+ for schools. 36% of residents are 65 or older in Mars, against 21% in Pennsylvania’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Mars has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Mars beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Mars | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.9% | 14.5% |
1,699 counted in 2010 and 1,458 in 2020; an estimated 1,391 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 Mars is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 777 in 1900, 1,458 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 4 maps from 1906 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mars. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
18 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
17 mi Stadium & arenaPNC Park
23 mi Theme parkKennywood
18 mi Stadium & arenaPPG Paints Arena
18 mi LandmarkFort PittAcrisure Stadium: Fo2grfr, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Duquesne: Sébastien Paquin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · PNC Park: alpineinc, CC BY 2.0 · Kennywood: Ski2007 of English Wikipedia, Public domain · PPG Paints Arena: Jleedev, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Pitt: Downtown_Pittsburgh_May_2008.jpg: Allie Caufield derivative work: GrapedApe (tal, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mars, 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 Mars.
The typical Mars home is worth about $554,000, up 3% in a year, 93% above the Pennsylvania typical home. 56% of households own their home in Mars, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 78% and U.S. towns at 73%. The median rent in Mars is $732 a month.
| Mars | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $732 a month | $1,115 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
People 65 and older are 36% of residents (20% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 13% of residents (22% statewide). Mars’ median age is 54.8 years. Mars has lost 3.9% of its people since 2020, down to 1,391 in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Mars | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 54.8 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 14% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 29% | 29% |
54% women, 46% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.4 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Mars | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.6% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.1% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.4% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 5.8% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.5% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 15.2% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 13.9% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.4% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 21.2% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.5% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.5% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.6% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 16.8% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 11.9% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.8% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,400, single groups can be off by several points
83% of adults had a checkup this year in Mars. Mars beats the Pennsylvania average on 8 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 5.2% of adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance in Mars.
| Mars | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 83% | 79% | 79% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 17% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 24% | 23% |
| What stands out | Mars | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.9% | 14.5% |
| Fewer smokers | 11.3% | 15.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.3% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 72% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mars.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mars has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 20° and about 20 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Mars for work: only 2% work in town. Since 2013, Mars has lost 46 jobs, to 591 in 2023. The top destinations are Pittsburgh (13%), Cranberry Township (10%) and Adams Township (8%).
| Mars | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 1.9% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 10% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Mars's reported crime rate is well below Pennsylvania's. No violent crimes were reported in 2024.
| Mars | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 6.8 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
0.0 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Garfield Avenue Park | — | 1 |
| 2. Clay Avenue Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
5 within 15 miles of the center of Mars
About 2 of every 100 Mars residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
3 notable people were born in Mars.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Mars is a borough in southern Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,458 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
That is 7.3 years of the area's median household income ($75,762 across the Pittsburgh, PA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
3 notable people were born here, including William Eythe and Jeff Wassmann.
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