Headstones Nittany Valley, 2011
Porter Township’s story
Porter Township in pictures
Census counts: 1,492 in 1980, 1,481 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2011 and 2 maps from 1967 on.
Explore the history →
Porter TownshipPA
A town of 1,503.
5 bordering townsMap →
Photo: Nicholas · CC BY 2.0
Population
1,503
2025 Census estimate · +0.7% since 2020
Median home value
$189K
Census ACS
Household income
$73K
median
Median age
45.4
years
Jobs based here
505
Balanced
Is Porter Township a good place to live?
Porter Township’s best subject grades are a B+ for civic life and cost of living; its weakest is a C for hazard risk. 13% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Porter Township, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 29% and U.S. towns at 29%. 36% of the land in Porter Township is conserved, above both the Pennsylvania town median (8.2%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). The biggest place to walk is State Game Lands Number 295, 4,411 acres with 7.4 miles of trail. Porter Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
WeakestCHazard risk
How Porter Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Porter Township is from typical.
Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listCOpen →Cost of livingTypical home $189K, 3.1 years of the Lock Haven area’s $61K median household incomeB+Open →WalkabilityEPA walkability 6.7 of 20; 6.6% of households have no car; 4.4% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →SchoolsC+Open →HealthGeisinger Jersey Shore Hospital 17.1 miles awayC+Open →Jobs & income$73K median household income; 505 jobs based hereC+Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors9 miles of trailsBOpen →HistoryB−Open →Civic life3.3 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsB+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 Porter Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Porter Township, and how to reach them.
PowerWest Penn PowerEIAHIFLD · EIA
WaterPaw Nittany water systemNo health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet6 providers88% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Porter 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 hereClinton County Board of ElectionsClinton County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP codes17751, 16848, 1684117751 72% · 16848 17% · 16841 11%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 Porter Township.
OutdoorsB
Conserved land covers nearly a third of Porter Township
9.1 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves.
36.4%conserved
36.4%
conserved · 5,949 of 16,343 acres
9.1 mi
of trails · 0.4 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. State Game Lands Number 295 | 7.4 mi | 4,411 |
| 2. Porter Township Park | 0.5 mi | 15 |
| 3. State Game Lands Number 255 | — | 707 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
SchoolsC+
Porter Township’s schools rank behind 60% of Pennsylvania districts
One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
40%of PA districts it outscoresC+School Grade
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Ridge School PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades 1–8 | Grades 1–8 | 22 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Climate
Porter Township has four seasons and pleasant summers
Porter Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 19° and about 30 inches of snow falls in a winter.
30″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter21–38°
Spring37–61°
Summer59–82°
Fall42–63°
Oct 20
typical first frost
Apr 30
typical last frost
+0.8°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C
High risk in Porter Township, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 67% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 88 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Porter Township.
67risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingStrong wind
88
paid flood claims since 1978
2
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
Most of Porter Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.9 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Porter Township for work: only 5% work in town. The top destinations are Lamar Township (8%), College Township (7%) and Lock Haven (6%). Half commute less than 19 miles.
5%work in town
| Porter Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.2% | 6.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Porter Township5%
Lamar Township8%
College Township7%
Lock Haven6%
Williamsport5%
19 mi
median commute distance
505
jobs based in Porter Township
Balanced
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 64% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HealthC+
Residents of Porter Township are less healthy than 57% of U.S. towns
Porter Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 18% of adults smoke cigarettes in Porter Township.
43%healthier than U.S. townsC+Health Grade
| Porter Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 19% | 19% |
26 measures vs. Pennsylvania
0 better18 too close to call8 worse
| What stands out | Porter Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 9.7% | 7.7% |
| More uninsured adults | 7.3% | 5.8% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9% | 7.4% |
Geisinger Jersey Shore Hospital
17.1 mi away · emergency room
2 of 3
care shortages: dental, mental health
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Porter Township
18pages on Porter Township
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Porter Township; the nearest are
Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and TechnologyCommunity college · Public · Pleasant Gap16 miPennsylvania State UniversityUniversity or college · Public · University Park24.7 mi$20,644 in-state tuition
About 1 of every 100 Porter Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
About Porter Township
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Porter Township is a township that is located in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,481 at the time of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 26 sq mi
Porter Township’s neighbors
5 towns share a border with Porter Township.
Logan TownshipBeech Creek TownshipLiberty TownshipLamar TownshipMarion TownshipPorter Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porter Township | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | C+ |
| Logan Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Beech Creek Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Liberty Township | — | — | A | — | C+ | B− |
| Lamar Township | #922 | C− | B− | — | C+ | C+ |
| Marion Township | — | — | B− | — | B+ | B |
Porter Township, Liberty Township and Marion Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Porter Township, Liberty Township, Lamar Township and Marion Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Logan Township and Beech Creek Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Porter Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Porter Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Porter Township, PA expensive?
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 B+.