Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Milton is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 823rd of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its public schools beat 71% of Pennsylvania towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest everyday mark is in incomes: the median household income is $55K, and 15% of residents live below the poverty line. A typical home there costs about $241K, 3.9 years of the Sunbury area’s $62K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 4 places on the National Register. Milton’s trail density is 1.1 miles per square mile, against 0.4 in Pennsylvania’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. On history, just 39 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns do better. The biggest place to walk is Milton State Park, 151 acres with 3.6 miles of trail.
Where Milton beats most towns.
Milton Freight Station
Census counts: 1,016 in 1820, 6,609 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 5 maps from 1924 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Milton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Milton, 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 Milton.
Milton draws workers from White Deer Township and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Milton State Park | 3.6 mi | 151 |
| 2. Brown Ave. Park | 0.5 mi | 23 |
| 3. Veterans Memorial Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| James F Baugher El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–3 | Grades K–3 | 560 | C+ |
| Milton HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 608 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
4,647 jobs are based in Milton, 1.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Milton for work: only 16% work in town. Milton’s median household income is $55,000, below both the Pennsylvania town median ($81,000) and the median of U.S. towns ($80,000). Since 2013, Milton has added 343 jobs, to 4,647 in 2023.
| Milton | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $55,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 7,291 U.S. towns with household incomes like Milton’s, it is healthier than 54%, so its C isn’t only a matter of income.
Milton beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 20% of adults smoke cigarettes in Milton.
| Milton | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 19% | 19% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 24% | 25% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| What stands out | Milton | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 8.8% | 5.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.6% | 7.7% |
| More smokers | 19.5% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $541 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on. 378 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 23 properties have flooded more than once.
Milton’s FEMA risk score is 71 of 100. Since 1978, 378 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Milton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Milton has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 20° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
48% of Milton households own their home. Typical home values rose 8% in the year to September 2026. The median rent in Milton is $922 a month.
| Milton | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 48% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $922 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Pennsylvania has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Milton sits closer to the middle.
| Milton | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 2.6 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.7 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 12.9 per 1,000 residents | 6.7 | 11.5 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Milton. Close and well known come first.
39 mi State parkRicketts Glen State Park
9 mi MuseumFort Augusta
36 mi State parkWorlds End State Park
31 mi MuseumPiper Aviation Museum
11 mi MuseumOld Union County CourthouseRicketts Glen State Park: en:User:Msitler, Public domain · Fort Augusta: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Worlds End State Park: Nicholas, CC BY 2.0 · Piper Aviation Museum: User:Ruhrfisch, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Old Union County Courthouse: Ruhrfisch (talk), CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Milton
About 2 of every 100 Milton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where Milton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Milton on the National Register of Historic Places.
15 notable people were born in Milton.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Milton is a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States, on the West Branch Susquehanna River, 50 miles (80 km) north of Harrisburg, located in Central Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River Valley. As of the 2020 census, Milton had a population of 6,609. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) upriver from the mouth of the West Branch Susquehanna River and about 30 miles (48 km) downriver of Williamsport.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Milton.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C+; West Chillisquaque Township (B) is closest.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milton | #823 | C+ | C+ | B | B+ | C |
| West Chillisquaque Township | #603 | B | A− | — | B+ | C |
| Turbot Township | — | — | C | — | B+ | C |
| White Deer Township | #435 | B+ | A | — | B+ | C− |
| Kelly Township | #303 | A− | B− | — | A+ | A− |
| West Milton | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Montandon | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New Columbia | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Turbot Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. West Chillisquaque Township, Turbot Township, White Deer Township and Kelly Township report no FBI crime data of their own. West Milton, Montandon and New Columbia aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Milton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Milton grades C+ overall, better than 37% of U.S. towns and #823 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C for health, B for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes, by national standards. Pennsylvania has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Milton sits nearer the middle.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
15 notable people were born here, including James Curtis Hepburn and James Pollock.
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