Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,179.
Penn Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $216K, 2.7 years of the Harrisburg metro’s $81K median household income. It grades B− overall, 679th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 75% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, the median household earns $59K. 44% of the land in Penn Township is conserved, against 8.2% in Pennsylvania’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is State Game Lands Number 170, 2,367 acres with 3.5 miles of trail. Only 160 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns score higher on the outdoors.
43.8% of the town is conserved land, across 3 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Penn Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 7 maps from 1907 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Penn Township. Close and well known come first.
12 mi National MonumentCarlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument
21 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year
20 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark Stadium
20 mi MuseumHershey's Chocolate World
21 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark Arena
39 mi Ancient siteGettysburg BattlefieldCarlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Hersheypark: Michael Gray, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Hersheypark Stadium: 45BearsFan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hershey's Chocolate World: Phillyfan0419, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hersheypark Arena: Hersheyarena4ever at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Gettysburg Battlefield: Veggies, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Penn 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 Penn Township.
Penn Township keeps more of its land conserved than most of Pennsylvania and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding).
Its 5,993 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 98% of Pennsylvania towns.
50 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. At 2.3 miles per square mile, Penn Township’s trail density is where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 0.4 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Hamer Woodlands at Cove Mountain Preserve | 28.8 mi | 1,113 |
| 2. State Game Lands Number 170 | 3.5 mi | 2,367 |
| 3. State Game Lands Number 290 | — | 27 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Susquenita SD. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Susquenita HS, with 490 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Susquenita El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 646 | B |
| Susquenita HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 490 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $718 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1979, 254 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Penn Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Penn Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 23° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Penn Township’s median age is 56.6 years. Penn Township has grown 2.6% since 2020, to 3,179 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 28% of Penn Township residents are 65 or older.
| Penn Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 56.6 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 28% | 21% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 15% | 20% | 22% |
48% women, 52% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.6 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Penn Township | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.6% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.9% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.4% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 7.4% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 25.1% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.4% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 12.2% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.6% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 45% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.6% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.3% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 15.8% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.7% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 3,200, single groups can be off by several points
Penn Township has about as many jobs (1,573) as working residents, but only 104 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Penn Township for work: only 7% work in town. 3.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Penn Township. Jobs based in Penn Township grew to 1,573 in 2023, 244 more than in 2013.
| Penn Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.5% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $59,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 8,681 U.S. towns with household incomes like Penn Township’s, it is healthier than 69%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Penn Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 5.
| Penn Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | Penn Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.5% | 7.7% |
| More smokers | 18.6% | 15.8% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.6% | 7.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
5 within 15 miles of the center of Penn Township
About 5 of every 100 Penn Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Penn Township is a township in Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,100 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Penn Township.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its B−; Wheatfield Township (B−) is closest.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Township | #679 | B− | B | — | B | C+ |
| Wheatfield Township | #675 | B− | A− | — | B | C+ |
| Middle Paxton Township | #502 | B+ | B+ | — | C+ | A |
| Rye Township | — | — | B | — | B | B+ |
| Duncannon | — | — | A− | — | B | B− |
| Reed Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Marysville | #224 | A | A− | A− | B | B+ |
| Watts Township | — | — | B+ | — | B | C+ |
Rye Township, Duncannon and Watts Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Penn Township, Wheatfield Township, Middle Paxton Township, Rye Township, Duncannon and Watts Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Reed Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Penn Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Penn Township grades B− overall, better than 52% of U.S. towns and #679 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C+ for health and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
