Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,674. Public schools that outperform most of Pennsylvania.
Because it does well by almost any measure. South Buffalo Township earns an A+, 91st among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns. Its schools outperform 93% of the state's, it reports less crime per resident than 88% of U.S. towns, and a typical home costs about $246K, 3.2 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income. Its lowest mark, a B, is in health. South Buffalo Township’s average trip to work is 32 minutes, against 26 minutes in Pennsylvania’s towns and 25 minutes across U.S. towns. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 78% of U.S. towns.
Where South Buffalo Township beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| South Buffalo El Sch | K–5 | 221 |
Allegheny River Locka and Dam No. 5Where South Buffalo Township’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 South Buffalo Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 1920 and 5 maps from 1907 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in South Buffalo 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 South Buffalo Township.
South Buffalo Township pairs an A for schools with modest home prices and is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s; it also has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Its A for schools comes with an A− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $246K.
Its public schools are run by Freeport Area SD. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Buffalo El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 221 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
At 6 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 74% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns. Violent crime is rare: 0 reported in 2025, 0 per 1,000 residents.
The violent crime rate in South Buffalo Township is 0 per 1,000 residents.
| South Buffalo Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.2 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave South Buffalo Township for work: only 3% work in town. 5.5% of residents live below the poverty line in South Buffalo Township. The top destinations are Pittsburgh (10%), East Franklin Township (7%) and Buffalo Township (6%).
| South Buffalo Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 16% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.5% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $93,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.9% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| South Buffalo Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.2% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Freeport Community Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
South Buffalo Township has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 19° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 44% of residents (38% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 17% of residents (22% statewide). South Buffalo Township’s median age is 50 years. 28% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Pennsylvania.
| South Buffalo Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 50 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 16% | 20% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 21% | 18% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.8 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women. Among residents 75 and older, 59% are men (PA 41%).
| South Buffalo Township | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7.9% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.9% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.4% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.6% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13.8% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 19.1% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17.6% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 5.8% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.1% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 37% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 13.8% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 18.2% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.9% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,700, single groups can be off by several points
South Buffalo Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 17% of South Buffalo Township adults smoke cigarettes.
| South Buffalo Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 35% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 6.2% | 7% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | South Buffalo Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with arthritis | 35% | 30.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
51 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 13 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 56% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 51 flood insurance claims have been paid out in South Buffalo Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
1 within 15 miles of the center of South Buffalo Township
About 3 of every 100 South Buffalo Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Township in Pennsylvania, US
South Buffalo Township is a township in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,713 at the 2020 census, an increase from the figure of 2,636 tabulated in 2010.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with South Buffalo Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Buffalo Township | #91 | A+ | A− | A | A | B |
| Gilpin Township | — | — | A | — | B+ | C+ |
| Freeport | — | — | A | — | A | C+ |
| Schenley | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bethel Township | — | — | A+ | — | B− | C+ |
| North Buffalo Township | #655 | B− | A | — | B− | B− |
| Cadogan Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Buffalo Township | #223 | A | C+ | — | A | B+ |
Gilpin Township, Freeport and Bethel Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Gilpin Township, Freeport, Bethel Township, North Buffalo Township and Buffalo Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Schenley and Cadogan Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare South Buffalo Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. South Buffalo Township grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #91 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B for health, A for safety and A for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a C−.
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−.