Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 7,539. A regional job hub with 7,442 jobs.
Summit Township grades B overall, 538th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools rank ahead of 92% of Pennsylvania towns and natural-hazard risk is low. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $74K. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: homes are expensive, about $245K for a typical one and 3.9 times the Erie metro’s $63K median household income. 32% of residents are 65 or older in Summit Township, against 21% in Pennsylvania’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. On history, just 85 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns do worse. The biggest park or preserve is State Game Lands Number 109, at 287 acres.
Where Summit Township beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Robison El Sch | K–5 | 359 |
| Montessori in the Woods | PK–K | 22 |
| Erie County Technical School | 9–12 | 2 |
6,603 counted in 2010 and 7,342 in 2020; an estimated 7,539 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Summit Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,381 in 1980, 7,339 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2006 and 6 maps from 1899 on.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Summit 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 Summit Township.
Summit Township draws workers from Erie and beyond and gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns.
7,442 jobs are based in Summit Township, 2.6 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17.8 minutes, against 26.3 across Pennsylvania.
Summit Township’s average commute comes in at 18 minutes. For most workers, Summit Township is a place to come home to: only 12% work in town. The top destinations are Erie (36%), Millcreek Township (15%) and Harborcreek Township (2%). Half commute less than 6 miles.
| Summit Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $74,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 9.8% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Below: Two of its 4 schools, each with why it was picked. Public schools: Fort LeBoeuf SD.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robison El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 359 | A |
| Erie County Technical SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
FEMA expects less storm and flood damage in Summit Township than in 86% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out locally. 84% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The share of adults 25 and older in Summit Township who hold a bachelor’s degree or more: 36%. People 65 and older are 32% of residents (20% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 32% of residents (38% statewide). The midpoint age here is 50.3 years. The Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate puts Summit Township at 7,539 residents, up 2.7% since 2020.
| Summit Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 50.3 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 29% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.7 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Summit Township | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.1% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.2% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.3% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.5% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.2% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.7% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 17.4% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 14.7% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.5% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 36.5% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 15% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.1% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 18.3% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 17.6% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Across 3 parks and preserves: 6.2 miles of trail. For Summit Township, the density of trails is 0.3 miles per square mile.
| Summit Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 2.4% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Picnicana Park | 0.3 mi | 7 |
| 2. State Game Lands Number 109 | — | 287 |
| 3. Summit Community Park | — | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The Erie Intl Ap weather station, 7 miles away, records that 104 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 97% of U.S. towns.
The midsummer high for Summit Township comes to 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For adults in Summit Township, the share who have high blood pressure is 33%. Two figures for adults locally: 19% binge drink, 35% sleep under 7 hours.
| Summit Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 81% | 79% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 35% | 38% | 36% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Summit Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with arthritis | 34.7% | 30.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Summit Township. Close and well known come first.
9 mi State parkPresque Isle State Park
8 mi LandmarkFort Le Boeuf7 mi Theme parkWaldameer Park
34 mi LakeChautauqua Lakein town Theme parkSplash Lagoon
31 mi Theme parkConneaut Lake ParkPresque Isle State Park: Ruhrfisch, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fort Le Boeuf: Charles M. Stotz ?, Public domain · Chautauqua Lake: Banderas, Public domain · Conneaut Lake Park: daveynin from United States, CC BY 2.0
4 within 15 miles of the center of Summit Township
About 4 of every 100 Summit Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where Summit Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Summit Township is a township in Erie County, Pennsylvania. The population was 7,339 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 6,603 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Summit Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Township | #538 | B | C | — | A | B |
| McKean Township | #376 | A− | B− | — | A | B− |
| Greene Township | #968 | C− | C− | — | B− | B− |
| Millcreek Township | #441 | B+ | C− | B | A− | A− |
| Waterford Township | #444 | B+ | B+ | — | A | C+ |
Summit Township, McKean Township, Greene Township and Waterford Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Summit Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Summit Township grades B overall, better than 64% of U.S. towns and #538 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B for health and A 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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