Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
St. Thomas Township is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C+ overall, 825th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is cost of living: a typical home costs about $212K, 2.7 years of the Chambersburg metro’s $77K median household income. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 61% of the country. 22% of the land in St. Thomas Township is conserved, above both Pennsylvania’s towns (8.2%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). State Game Lands Number 235, at 5,349 acres with 6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. St. Thomas Township's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 84% of U.S. towns.
Where St. Thomas Township beats most towns.
Where St. Thomas 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 St. Thomas Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,775 in 2000, 5,917 in 2020. The archive holds 5 maps from 1900 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in St. Thomas 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 St. Thomas Township.
St. Thomas Township has 429 jobs for its 2,520 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave St. Jobs based in St. Thomas Township grew to 429 in 2023, 142 more than in 2013. Thomas Township for work: only 4% work in town.
| St. Thomas Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 4.2% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $74,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.3% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by Tuscarora SD. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Thomas El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 297 | C− |
| Emmanuel Christian School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 1–9 | Grades 1–9 | 19 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. State Game Lands Number 235 | 6 mi | 5,349 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 68% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 6 flood insurance claims have been paid out in St. Thomas Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Thomas Township has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 22° and about 31 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
19% of adults smoke cigarettes in St. Thomas Township, against 16% in Pennsylvania’s towns and 14% across U.S. towns. 39% of St. Thomas Township adults have obesity. Thomas Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 3.
| St. Thomas Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | St. Thomas Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 7.5% | 5.8% |
| More smokers | 18.8% | 15.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.1% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around St. Thomas Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi LandmarkRaven Rock Mountain Complex
38 mi National MonumentCarlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument
30 mi National BattlefieldAntietam National Battlefield161K visitors a year
32 mi Ancient siteGettysburg Battlefield
31 mi LandmarkGettysburg National Cemetery
29 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 · Antietam National Battlefield: Acroterion, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gettysburg Battlefield: Veggies, Public domain · 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
1 within 15 miles of the center of St. Thomas Township
About 3 of every 100 St. Thomas Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
3 places in St. Thomas Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Pennsylvania, US
St. Thomas Township is a township in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,917 at the 2020 census. It is the birthplace of both Baseball Hall of Fame member Nellie Fox, and United States Army brigadier general and legislator, Charles Thomas Campbell.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with St. Thomas Township.
All 4 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C+; Peters Township (C+) is closest.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Thomas Township | #825 | C+ | B | — | B− | C+ |
| Hamilton Township | #587 | B | B+ | — | C+ | B |
| Antrim Township | #410 | B+ | B− | — | A− | B |
| Metal Township | — | — | A+ | — | C+ | C− |
| Peters Township | #774 | C+ | B− | — | B− | C+ |
| Letterkenny Township | #739 | B− | B+ | — | C+ | C |
Metal Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. St. Thomas Township, Hamilton Township, Antrim Township, Metal Township, Peters Township and Letterkenny Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare St. Thomas Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
St. Thomas Township grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #825 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C+ for health and B− 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 B.
