Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
New Brighton gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $158K, 2.1 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 771st of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania. The low prices come with trade-offs. Its police reported 24 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 79% of U.S. towns. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 94% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 93% of U.S. towns, with 2 places on the National Register. 49% of households live in a home they own in New Brighton, below both the Pennsylvania town median (78%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%).
Where New Brighton beats most towns.
Merrick Art Gallery
Census counts: 981 in 1840, a peak of 9,950 in 1930, 5,729 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1883 and 4 maps from 1901 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far New Brighton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in New Brighton, 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 New Brighton.
New Brighton is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has homes that are cheap against local pay and is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s.
At 2.1 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income, the typical home (about $158K) costs less against local pay than in 89% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to that grade.
A home in New Brighton typically sold within 50 days of listing. Zillow values the typical New Brighton home at about $158,000, about the same as a year ago, 45% below the Pennsylvania typical home. For New Brighton, the midpoint rent is $749 a month.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The public schools here belong to New Brighton Area SD. Its one school is below. 290 students attend the town’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Brighton Area MSLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 290 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
At 34.5 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 91% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 211 to 173 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
New Brighton’s property offense rate stands at 15.3 per 1,000 residents. In New Brighton, the rate of reported violence is 2.5 per 1,000 residents.
| New Brighton | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.3 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most people who work leave New Brighton to do it: just 6% work in town. Its income of the median household comes in at $53,000. Jobs locally fell by 272 from 2013 to 2023, to 1,134. 16% of residents live below the poverty line locally.
| New Brighton | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 16% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
New Brighton has chilly winters and warm summers. Summer afternoons peak near 84° in July, and January nights bottom out around 21°; snowfall runs to about 20 inches a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 6,768 U.S. towns with household incomes like New Brighton’s, it is healthier than 68%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Among adults in New Brighton, 39% sleep under 7 hours. Two figures for adults here: 19% smoke cigarettes, 19% binge drink.
| New Brighton | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 35% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | New Brighton | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 7.3% | 5.8% |
| More smokers | 18.8% | 15.8% |
| More adults in frequent mental distress | 18.4% | 16.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Flood insurance has paid out on 17 claims in New Brighton since 1989. On expected storm and flood damage, New Brighton sits above 57% of U.S. communities. Federal aid has come to New Brighton households in 2 declared disasters; the latest was in 2004. FEMA puts 88% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In 4 parks and preserves, walkers have 0.4 miles of trail. Parks and preserves in New Brighton: 4, covering 10 acres.
| New Brighton | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.4% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Big Rock Park | 0.4 mi | 6 |
| 2. Fishing Park | — | 2 |
| 3. Hunkey Alley Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around New Brighton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw25 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
26 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
26 mi Stadium & arenaPNC Park
34 mi Theme parkKennywood
27 mi Stadium & arenaPPG Paints Arena
26 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
4 within 15 miles of the center of New Brighton
About 2 of every 100 New Brighton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where New Brighton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
15 notable people were born in New Brighton.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
New Brighton is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located along the Beaver River, 28 miles (45 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 5,729 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with New Brighton.
Patterson Township next door grades higher for schools (B+ to New Brighton’s C+) and lower for cost of living (C+ to A).
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Brighton | #771 | C+ | A | C− | C+ | C+ |
| Pulaski Township | — | — | A | — | C+ | B− |
| Beaver Falls | #816 | C+ | A | B− | C | D |
| Daugherty Township | #737 | B− | B+ | — | C+ | B− |
| Fallston | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Patterson Heights | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Patterson Township | #431 | B+ | C+ | A+ | B+ | C+ |
| Rochester Township | #754 | C+ | A | — | C | C− |
Pulaski Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Pulaski Township, Daugherty Township and Rochester Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Fallston and Patterson Heights aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare New Brighton with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
New Brighton grades C+ overall, better than 42% of U.S. towns and #771 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C+ for health, C− for safety and C+ for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
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 A.
15 notable people were born here, including Shane Douglas and Fredric Hope.
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