Bridge between Monroe and Penn Townships, original, 1988
Penn Township’s story
Penn Township in pictures
The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1988 and 5 maps from 1893 on.
Explore the history →
Penn TownshipSnyder County, PA
A town of 4,098.
8 bordering townsMap →
Photo: User:Dincher · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
4,098
2025 Census estimate · +1.2% since 2020
Median home value
$235K
Census ACS
Household income
$61K
median
Median age
57.9
years
Jobs based here
2,509
Balanced
TownGrade
C+
#756 of 1032 in PA
Is Penn Township a good place to live?
Penn Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, ranked 756th of 1032 in Pennsylvania, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools outperform 59% of the state's. A typical home there costs about $235K, 3.5 years of the Selinsgrove area’s $67K median household income. Penn Township’s median age is 57.9 years, above both the Pennsylvania town median (43.2 years) and the median of U.S. towns (40.5 years). On history, just 20 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns do worse. East Snyder Park, at 38 acres with 1.4 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
WeakestCWalkability
How Penn Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Penn Township is from typical.
WalkabilityEPA walkability 5.8 of 20; 8.8% of households have no car; 1.2% of workers walk, bike or ride transitCOpen →SchoolsBOpen →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listC+Open →Cost of livingBOpen →HealthWellspan Evangelical Community Hospital 12 miles awayB−Open →Jobs & income$61K median household incomeB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors7% conserved landC+Open →HistoryC−Open →Civic life4.2 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsC+Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Penn Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Penn Township, and how to reach them.
PowerPPL Electric Utilities18.6¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterSelinsgrove Center water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet7 providers95% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Penn Township’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Pennsylvania you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person until 15 days before Election Day, or by mail (received 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereSnyder County Board of ElectionsSnyder County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Dec 2025
ZIP codes17870, 1784217870 99% · 17842 1%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Penn Township.
Penn Township is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
Who lives here
Older than Pennsylvania overall
People 65 and older are 32% of residents (20% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 13% of residents (22% statewide). 26% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Pennsylvania.
57.9median age · PA 40.9
| Penn Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 13% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 29% | 29% |
Penn TownshipPennsylvaniaUnited States
Ages · share of residents
21%
Education · adults 25 and older
No diploma20%
High school42%
Some college7%
Associate’s5%
Bachelor’s14%
Graduate12%
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.6 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Penn Township | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.3% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 6.1% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.5% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9.1% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.3% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.1% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 20.9% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.5% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 17.3% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 20% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 41.7% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 6.9% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.2% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 13.9% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.4% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,100, single groups can be off by several points
59%of PA districts it outscoresBSchool Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Story PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 1–12 | Grades 1–12 | 35 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Climate
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Penn Township
Penn Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 20° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
29″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter22–38°
Spring38–61°
Summer60–82°
Fall43–63°
Oct 22
typical first frost
Apr 25
typical last frost
+1.2°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
#593for trails in PA
| Penn Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.9% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
6.9%
conserved · 779 of 11,359 acres
4.0 mi
of trails · 0.2 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. East Snyder Park | 1.4 mi | 38 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B−
With 1.5 jobs for every working resident, Penn Township draws in 2,336 commuters
Jobs based here fell from 3,249 in 2013 to 2,509. The average commute for its 1,687 working residents takes 17.4 minutes, against 26.3 across Pennsylvania.
Most working residents leave Penn Township for work: only 10% work in town. The average trip to work in Penn Township is 17 minutes. Since 2013, Penn Township has lost 740 jobs, to 2,509 in 2023.
10%work in town
| Penn Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 10% | 6.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Penn Township10%
Selinsgrove9%
Monroe Township6%
Sunbury3%
Middleburg3%
11 mi
median commute distance
2,509
jobs based in Penn Township
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
C
Walkability grade: more walkable than 27% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HealthB−
Residents of Penn Township are less healthy than 52% of U.S. towns
Against the 9,293 U.S. towns with household incomes like Penn Township’s, it is healthier than 71%, so its B− isn’t only a matter of income.
Penn Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 19% of Penn Township adults report frequent mental distress.
48%healthier than U.S. townsB−Health Grade
| Penn Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 79% | 79% |
26 measures vs. Pennsylvania
0 better24 too close to call2 worse
| What stands out | Penn Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 7.1% | 5.8% |
| More adults in frequent mental distress | 18.9% | 16.4% |
Wellspan Evangelical Community Hospital
12 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
36th
percentile among PA towns
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C+
Inland flooding leads a moderate hazard risk in Penn Township
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 51% of U.S. communities.
51risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingHurricanes
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Penn Township
18pages on Penn Township
The big questions
Out and about
The story
After high school
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Penn Township
Susquehanna UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Selinsgrove1.3 mi$59,850 tuitionBucknell UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Lewisburg10.2 mi$67,812 tuition
About 2 of every 100 Penn Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
About Penn Township
Township in Pennsylvania, United States
Penn Township is a township in Snyder County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,048 at the 2020 census. Penn Township is home to the Selinsgrove Speedway, a halfmile high-banked oval dirt track.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 18 sq mi
Penn Township’s neighbors
8 towns share a border with Penn Township.
Jackson TownshipWashington TownshipKratzervilleSelinsgroveUnion TownshipMonroe TownshipLower Augusta TownshipMiddlecreek TownshipPenn Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penn Township | #756 | C+ | B | — | B | B− |
| Jackson Township | — | — | C+ | — | B | C+ |
| Washington Township | — | — | B+ | — | B | C |
| Kratzerville | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Selinsgrove | #230 | A | B− | A | B | B |
| Union Township | — | — | B− | — | B | C |
| Monroe Township | #579 | B | B− | — | B | B− |
| Lower Augusta Township | — | — | A− | — | B+ | C |
Jackson Township, Washington Township, Union Township and Lower Augusta Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Penn Township, Jackson Township, Washington Township, Union Township, Monroe Township and Lower Augusta Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Kratzerville isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Penn Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Penn Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Penn Township, PA a good place to live?
Penn Township grades C+ overall, better than 43% of U.S. towns and #756 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B− for health and B for schools.
Is Penn Township, PA expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.