Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
7,942 people call this town in Pennsylvania home.
Safety is where it shines: it reports less crime per resident than 92% of U.S. towns. What holds it back is schools: its public schools trail 64% of Pennsylvania towns on state tests and graduation. At about $312K, a typical home costs 3.9 years of the Reading metro’s $80K median household income. It lags on walkability as well. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 65% of U.S. towns. The overall grade comes out at A−, 312th of 1032 in Pennsylvania. Nationally, it does better than just over four fifths of U.S. towns. South Heidelberg Township has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Grand View Dairy Farm and Knorr-Bare Farm.
Figures: FBI crime data, 2024 · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places.
Where South Heidelberg Township beats most towns.
Grand View Dairy FarmWhere South Heidelberg 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 Heidelberg Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,355 in 1980, 7,271 in 2010. The archive holds 7 maps from 1902 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in South Heidelberg 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 Heidelberg Township.
South Heidelberg Township owes part of its health edge to its incomes and sees little violent crime.
Violent crime is rare: 5 reported in 2024, 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
In South Heidelberg Township, the violent crime rate is 0.3 per 1,000 residents, close to Pennsylvania’s towns (0.8) and below U.S. towns (1.7).
| South Heidelberg Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 3.9 per 1,000 residents | 6.8 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
On expected storm and flood damage, South Heidelberg Township sits below 89% of U.S. communities. 49% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by hurricanes at 13%. The town has had 2 paid flood insurance claims since 1978.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The biggest place to walk is George W. Wertz Tract, 448 acres with 4.3 miles of trail. Walkers can cover 6.9 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. Parks and preserves in South Heidelberg Township: 5, covering 935 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. George W. Wertz Tract | 4.3 mi | 448 |
| 2. WeSH Park | 0.9 mi | 19 |
| 3. William Penn State Forest | — | 448 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The top destinations are Reading (8%), Spring Township (5%) and Wyomissing (5%). Only 3% of working residents stay in South Heidelberg Township for work; the rest commute out. In South Heidelberg Township, the middle household income is $111,000, against $81,000 in Pennsylvania’s towns and $80,000 across U.S. towns. Jobs in South Heidelberg Township grew by 248 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 2,553.
| South Heidelberg Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $111,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.4% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 7,048 U.S. towns with household incomes like South Heidelberg Township’s, it is healthier than 52%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
South Heidelberg Township: nearly two in five adults sleep under 7 hours. Of 26 CDC measures, South Heidelberg Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 3 and trails it on 1. 19% of adults in South Heidelberg Township binge drink; 12% report frequent physical distress.
| South Heidelberg Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 36% |
| What stands out | South Heidelberg Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 11.8% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults in fair or poor health | 16.6% | 18.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 21° and about 27 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The share of residents in South Heidelberg Township who are 65 or older: 23%. Adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (22% statewide). A bachelor’s degree or higher: 30% of adults 25 and older, vs 35% across Pennsylvania. 7,942 people lived in South Heidelberg Township by the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate, 3% more than in 2020.
| South Heidelberg Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 23% | 21% | 18% |
| Median age | 44.3 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 19% | 20% | 22% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.3 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| South Heidelberg Township | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 9.6% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.4% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.2% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.7% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.2% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.9% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.7% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 14.6% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.6% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.3% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 33.2% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.9% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.1% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.4% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.2% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around South Heidelberg Township. Close and well known come first.
30 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year
35 mi Theme parkDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
38 mi GardenLongwood Gardens
10 mi MuseumEphrata Cloister
21 mi Theme parkDutch Wonderland
30 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark StadiumHersheypark: Michael Gray, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom: Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Longwood Gardens: P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ephrata Cloister: 1549bcp at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Dutch Wonderland: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hersheypark Stadium: 45BearsFan, CC BY-SA 4.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of South Heidelberg Township
About 5 of every 100 South Heidelberg Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
2 places in South Heidelberg Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Pennsylvania, US
South Heidelberg Township is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,271 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with South Heidelberg Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Heidelberg Township | #312 | A− | C+ | A | C+ | B+ |
| Spring Township | #310 | A− | C− | B+ | B | A− |
| Wernersville | #643 | B | C− | — | C+ | B+ |
| Lower Heidelberg Township | #274 | A− | D | A+ | B | A− |
| West Cocalico Township | #500 | B+ | C+ | — | A− | B |
| Sinking Spring | #495 | B+ | C− | A | B | B− |
| Heidelberg Township | — | — | C+ | — | C+ | B |
Heidelberg Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Wernersville, West Cocalico Township and Heidelberg Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare South Heidelberg Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. South Heidelberg Township grades A− overall, better than 81% of U.S. towns and #312 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B+ for health, A for safety and C+ for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
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