Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Norristown grades D overall, 1018th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns, mostly because of safety and schools. Its police reported 176 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 81% of U.S. towns. Its public schools trail 81% of Pennsylvania towns on state tests and graduation. One bright spot: it is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 5 places on the National Register. On health, just 167 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns do worse. Norristown’s violent crime rate is 4.9 per 1,000 residents, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 0.7 and U.S. towns at 1.6. Its National Register listings include Central Norristown Historic District and West Norristown Historic District.
Where Norristown beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1682, comes before those of 97% of the Pennsylvania towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 827 in 1820, 35,748 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1833 and 6 maps from 1894 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 Norristown is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Norristown. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi MuseumUSS New Jersey
Big draw11 mi MuseumLynnewood Hall
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaLincoln Financial Field
Big draw14 mi MuseumEastern State Penitentiary
Big draw16 mi Ancient siteIndependence Hall3.0M visitors a year
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaXfinity Mobile ArenaUSS New Jersey: Camera Operator: PH3 BRYANT, Public domain · Lynnewood Hall: Shuvaev, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lincoln Financial Field: The original uploader was Betp at French Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Eastern State Penitentiary: Davidt8, Public domain · Independence Hall: Mys 721tx, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Xfinity Mobile Arena: Jen Smith, CC BY 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Norristown, 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 Norristown.
Norristown reports violent crime at about twice the Pennsylvania rate, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding) and scores below East Norriton Township and its other neighbors on health.
3.3 miles of trail in 16 parks and preserves. Norristown’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Norristown Farm Park, 109 acres with 1.3 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Norristown Farm Park | 1.3 mi | 109 |
| 2. Elmwood Park | 0.3 mi | 38 |
| 3. Bartash Park | 0.1 mi | 40 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Norristown Area SD. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eisenhower MSLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 781 | D |
| Roosevelt Campus of the Norristown Area HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 180 | D− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Violent crime runs at 4.9 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Pennsylvania rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its C−.
The property crime rate in Norristown is 17.9 per 1,000 residents. Norristown reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 81% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
All 5 graded neighbors score healthier than its C−, from East Norriton Township (B+) to Upper Merion Township (A+).
44% of Norristown adults sleep under 7 hours. Norristown beats the Pennsylvania average on 3 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 19% of Norristown adults smoke cigarettes.
| Norristown | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 36% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 6.9% | 8.1% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 19% | 19% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Norristown | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.3% | 8.8% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 6.2% | 7.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 15.1% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Norristown for work: only 6% work in town. 19% of residents live below the poverty line in Norristown. Since 2013, Norristown has lost 1,200 jobs, to 8,306 in 2023.
| Norristown | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Norristown has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 23° and about 8 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Norristown home is worth about $333,000, up 2.2% in a year, 16% above the Pennsylvania typical home.
| Norristown | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 43% | 78% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 57% | 44% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,422 a month | $1,114 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 87% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $347 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on. 165 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 20 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1978, 165 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Norristown.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
42 within 15 miles of the center of Norristown
About 4 of every 100 Norristown residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where Norristown’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 places in Norristown on the National Register of Historic Places.
45 notable people were born in Norristown.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Norristown is a borough with home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Located along the Schuylkill River, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) from Philadelphia, Norristown had a population of 35,748 as of the 2020 census. It is the fourth-most populous municipality in the county and second-most populous borough in Pennsylvania. It is the largest non-township municipality in Montgomery County and is located 49.8 miles (80.1 km) southeast of Allentown and 19.9 miles (32.0 km) northwest of Philadelphia.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Norristown.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; East Norriton Township (C) is closest. Upper Merion Township next door grades higher for schools (A− to Norristown’s C−) and lower for cost of living (D to C).
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norristown | #1018 | D | C | C− | C− | C− |
| Bridgeport | #439 | B+ | C+ | C | A− | A |
| West Norriton Township | #817 | C+ | D | C+ | C− | A |
| Plymouth Township | #454 | B+ | C− | D | A+ | A |
| East Norriton Township | #836 | C | D | C+ | C− | B+ |
| Swedesburg | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Upper Merion Township | #534 | B | D | C− | A− | A+ |
Swedesburg isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Norristown with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Norristown grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #1018 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C− for health, C− for safety and C− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
That is 3.6 years of the area's median household income ($91,289 across the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 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.
45 notable people were born here, including Maria Bello and Peter Boyle.
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