Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A solid town with one catch. Walkability is its strong suit: it is more walkable than 98% of U.S. towns. With an A− overall, Shippensburg Township is better than just over four fifths of U.S. towns. Cost of living is a strength too: a typical home costs about $159K, 2 years of the Harrisburg metro’s $81K median household income. The catch is health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 66% of the country. The town is home to Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. 27% of residents live below the poverty line in the town, against 7.6% in Pennsylvania’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only one of the 1,035 Pennsylvania towns we compare has a lower midpoint age than Shippensburg Township.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES. Shippensburg Township is a college campus (most residents are students), so it isn’t ranked among Pennsylvania’s towns.
Where Shippensburg Township beats most towns.
Cumberland Valley State Normal School Historic District
Census counts: 1,159 in 1810, 5,478 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1789 and 4 maps from 1923 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Shippensburg Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Shippensburg 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 Shippensburg Township.
Shippensburg Township is shaped by its college students, draws workers from Southampton Township and beyond and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
One of its 3 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. Public schools: Shippensburg Area SD. 3 public schools serve Shippensburg Township, with 1,156 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Burd El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–3 | Grades K–3 | 529 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
2,159 jobs are based in Shippensburg Township, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17.3 minutes, against 26.3 across Pennsylvania.
For half of commuters, work is under 25 miles away. Shippensburg Township’s median household income comes in at $53,000. Commuting out is the norm in the town: 4% of working residents work locally. The top destinations are Chambersburg (7%), Carlisle (6%) and Shippensburg (5%).
| Shippensburg Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 27% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 17 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $53,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.2% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The range runs from 22° on a January night to 86° on a July afternoon, with about 34 inches of snow a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Against the 6,931 U.S. towns with household incomes like Shippensburg Township’s, it is healthier than 65%, so that grade isn’t only a matter of income.
Among adults in Shippensburg Township, 39% sleep under 7 hours. Against the Pennsylvania average, Shippensburg Township comes out ahead on 1 CDC measures out of 26, and behind on 10. Two figures for adults locally: 19% smoke cigarettes, 27% have been diagnosed with depression.
| Shippensburg Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 24% | 23% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | Shippensburg Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.7% | 8.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 8.5% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
0.8 miles of trail wind through 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Shippensburg Township Park, at 21 acres. The town’s trail network density is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shippensburg Township Park | 0.2 mi | 21 |
| 2. Eckels Field | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Compared with 63% of U.S. communities, expected storm and flood damage in Shippensburg Township is lower. Expected losses in Shippensburg Township break down as 76% from inland flooding and 7% from hurricanes.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Shippensburg Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw23 mi LandmarkRaven Rock Mountain Complex
20 mi National MonumentCarlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument
23 mi Ancient siteGettysburg Battlefield
11 mi State parkPine Grove Furnace State Park
22 mi LandmarkGettysburg National Cemetery
20 mi National Military ParkGettysburg National Military Park730K visitors a yearRaven Rock Mountain Complex: US Government, Public domain · Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Gettysburg Battlefield: Veggies, Public domain · Pine Grove Furnace State Park: Zeete, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gettysburg National Cemetery: Photo: Henryhartley at en.wikipedia Statue: Randolph Rogers (1825-1892), Public domain · Gettysburg National Military Park: David Dugan, CC BY-SA 3.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Shippensburg Township
College town 64 of every 100 Shippensburg Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
5,429 counted in 2010 and 4,286 in 2020; an estimated 4,343 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Shippensburg is a borough in Cumberland and Franklin counties in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Settled in 1730, Shippensburg lies in the Cumberland Valley, 41 miles (66 km) southwest of Harrisburg, and is part of the Harrisburg metropolitan area. The population was 5,478 at the 2020 census. Shippensburg was incorporated as a borough on January 21, 1819. In the past, there were furniture factories, engine and pump works, and other industrial works located within the town. Shippensburg is the home of the Beistle Company, the oldest manufacturer of decorations and party goods in the U.S. In May 2012, Volvo Construction Equipment began a $100 million expansion project to bring its Amer…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Shippensburg Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shippensburg Township | – | A− | A | — | B | C |
| Shippensburg | #557 | B | B+ | B | B | C− |
| Southampton Township · Southampton Township | #402 | B+ | A | — | B | C |
| Shippensburg University | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Shippensburg Township and Southampton Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Shippensburg University isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Southampton Township and Southampton Township are one community, graded once. Compare Shippensburg Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Shippensburg Township grades A− overall, better than 81% of U.S. towns. Shippensburg Township is a college campus (most residents are students), so it isn’t ranked among Pennsylvania’s towns. It grades C for health and B for schools.
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 A.
