Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Shamokin gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $60K, 1 years of the Sunbury area’s $62K median household income. It grades C overall, 915th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 97% of the country, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 88% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 90% of U.S. towns. 25% of residents live below the poverty line in Shamokin, above both the Pennsylvania town median (7.6%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Shamokin's public schools trail 76% of Pennsylvania towns on state tests and graduation.
Where Shamokin beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| Widest gap | Shamokin | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 12.6% | 5.8% |
Where Shamokin’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Shamokin is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 90% of comparable towns) to D− for health (better than 3%), so the C overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,191 in 1850, a peak of 21,204 in 1920, 6,942 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1851 and 5 maps from 1892 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Shamokin, 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 Shamokin.
Shamokin is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding).
Against the 2,296 U.S. towns with household incomes like Shamokin’s, it is less healthy than 82%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income.
31% of Shamokin adults say their health is fair or poor. Only 1 of the 1,035 Pennsylvania towns we compare have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Shamokin. 22% of Shamokin adults report frequent mental distress.
| Shamokin | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 19% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Shamokin | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 12.6% | 5.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 28.6% | 14.5% |
| More adults with COPD | 13.4% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 99% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $869 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1978, 65 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Shamokin. Only 7 of the 1,037 Pennsylvania towns we compare have a higher FEMA risk score than Shamokin.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Shamokin for work: only 7% work in town. The average trip to work in Shamokin is 32 minutes. Since 2013, Shamokin has lost 173 jobs, to 1,358 in 2023.
| Shamokin | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $40,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Shamokin has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Shamokin’s July high is 82°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Shamokin | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.4% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Market Street Median Park | 0.2 mi | 2 |
| 2. Lincoln Street Monuments Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Pennsylvania has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Shamokin sits closer to the middle.
| Shamokin | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 8.7 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.2 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 1 years of the Sunbury area’s $62K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 99% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $858, against $3,311 across Pennsylvania, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
60% of households own their home in Shamokin.
| Shamokin | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 60% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $824 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Shamokin; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Shamokin residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
21 notable people were born in Shamokin.
City in Pennsylvania, United States
Shamokin (; Saponi Algonquian Schahamokink, meaning "place of eels") (Lenape Indian language: Shahëmokink) is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Surrounded by Coal Township at the western edge of the Anthracite Coal Region in central Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River Valley, the city was named after a Saponi Indian village, Schahamokink. At the 2020 United States census, the population was 6,942.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Shamokin.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shamokin | #915 | C | A− | B− | C− | D− |
| Fairview-Ferndale | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Marshallton | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Fairview-Ferndale and Marshallton aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Shamokin with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Shamokin grades C overall, better than 26% of U.S. towns and #915 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades D− for health, B− for safety and C− for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes, by national standards. Pennsylvania has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Shamokin sits nearer the middle.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $60,000, 79% below the Pennsylvania typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
21 notable people were born here, including Stan Coveleski and Claude Beck.