Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A well-rated place to live, with prices to match. Where it does best is health — CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 95% of the country. The trade-off is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $770K, 8.4 years of the Philadelphia metro’s $91K median household income. Put together, the subjects come to an A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns. Its place in the ranking is 246th of 1032 in Pennsylvania. Thornbury Township is home to Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. On the outdoors, just 136 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns do better. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 92% of U.S. towns, with 4 places on the National Register.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · USGS PAD-US.
Where Thornbury Township beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1685, comes before those of 96% of the Pennsylvania towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 1,504 in 1930, 6,904 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and 6 maps from 1901 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Thornbury Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Thornbury Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw21 mi MuseumUSS New Jersey
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaLincoln Financial Field
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaXfinity Mobile Arena
Big draw20 mi Ancient siteIndependence Hall3.0M visitors a year
Big draw19 mi MuseumEastern State Penitentiary
Big draw23 mi MuseumLynnewood HallUSS New Jersey: Camera Operator: PH3 BRYANT, Public domain · Lincoln Financial Field: The original uploader was Betp at French Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Xfinity Mobile Arena: Jen Smith, CC BY 3.0 · Independence Hall: Mys 721tx, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Eastern State Penitentiary: Davidt8, Public domain · Lynnewood Hall: Shuvaev, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Thornbury 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 Thornbury Township.
Thornbury Township has less tooth loss than most of Pennsylvania and sends most of its workers to Philadelphia and beyond, but it trails Chadds Ford Township and its other neighbors on schools.
Its widest gap with Pennsylvania is tooth loss: 6.7% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 14.5% statewide. Against the 1,084 U.S. towns with household incomes like Thornbury Township’s, it is less healthy than 51%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
19% of adults binge drink in Thornbury Township, close to Pennsylvania’s towns (18%) and above U.S. towns (16%). Thornbury Township: 32% of adults have high blood pressure. CDC measures, 26 in all: Thornbury Township beats Pennsylvania on 13 and trails on 1.
| Thornbury Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 35% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 17% | 14% |
| What stands out | Thornbury Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.7% | 14.5% |
| Fewer smokers | 10.2% | 15.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.3% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Each of its 5 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its A, Chadds Ford Township highest at A+. Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $770K.
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Malvern School PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades K | Grades K | 8 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
The biggest place to walk is Bonner Park, 56 acres with 2.1 miles of trail. In 4 parks and preserves, walkers have 9.2 miles of trail. The trail network density in Thornbury Township is 1.0 miles per square mile.
| Thornbury Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.0 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 9.6% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bonner Park | 2.1 mi | 56 |
| 2. Barrett's Meadow | 0.9 mi | 32 |
| 3. Thornbury Park | 0.5 mi | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in 89% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects in Thornbury Township, 61% come from inland flooding and 7% from heat waves.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Thornbury Township has 906 jobs for its 3,186 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. 27% of workers work from home, against 15.6% across Pennsylvania.
The share of residents in Thornbury Township who live below the poverty line: 5.3%. Jobs in Thornbury Township grew by 90 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 906. Also worth knowing: in Thornbury Township, the average commute is 30 minutes, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 26 minutes and U.S. towns at 25 minutes. Commuting out is the norm in the town: 4% of working residents work locally.
| Thornbury Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $192,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.3% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.2% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Summer afternoons peak near 86° in July, and January nights bottom out around 24°; snowfall runs to about 12 inches a winter. The seasons in Thornbury Township: chilly winters, warm summers, with plenty of rain.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
20 within 15 miles of the center of Thornbury Township
About 7 of every 100 Thornbury Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
8,028 counted in 2010 and 6,904 in 2020; an estimated 6,965 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
4 places in Thornbury Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Thornbury Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the population was 8,028, up from 7,093 at the 2000 census. It is adjacent to, and was once joined with, Thornbury Township in Chester County. It includes part of the census designated place of Cheyney University.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Thornbury Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornbury Township | #246 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Middletown Township | #120 | A | D− | — | A+ | A |
| Thornbury Township | #212 | A | D | — | A | A |
| Edgmont Township | #195 | A | D− | — | A+ | A |
| Concord Township | #199 | A | D− | — | A+ | A |
| Chester Heights | #114 | A+ | D | — | A+ | A |
| Cheyney University | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dilworthtown | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Thornbury Township, Middletown Township, Thornbury Township, Edgmont Township, Concord Township and Chester Heights report no FBI crime data of their own. Cheyney University and Dilworthtown aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Thornbury Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Thornbury Township grades A overall, better than 87% of U.S. towns and #246 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades A+ for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
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