Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Towanda is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 926th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its public schools beat 48% of Pennsylvania towns on state tests and graduation. Expect to pay for it: homes are expensive, about $167K for a typical one and 2.6 times the Sayre area’s $64K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 1 place on the National Register. Towanda is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns. Only 54 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns score higher on history. 53% of households own their home in Towanda, below both the Pennsylvania town median (78%) and the median of U.S. towns (73%).
Where Towanda beats most towns.
Towanda Historic District
Gregory La CavaEach subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Towanda is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 224 in 1830, a peak of 4,663 in 1900, 2,798 in 2020. The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1860 and 5 maps from 1923 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Towanda, 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 Towanda.
Towanda is healthier than towns with similar incomes and is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding).
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $537 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Towanda’s FEMA risk score is 72 of 100. Since 1979, 12 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Towanda.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by Towanda Area SD. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Towanda Area JSHS, with 709 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Towanda Area El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–6 | Grades 3–6 | 423 | C+ |
| Towanda Area JSHSLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 709 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Towanda has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 38 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here fell from 2,479 in 2013 to 1,741. The average commute for its 1,226 working residents takes 19.8 minutes, against 26.3 across Pennsylvania.
Most working residents leave Towanda for work: only 15% work in town. The average trip to work in Towanda is 20 minutes. Since 2013, Towanda has lost 738 jobs, to 1,741 in 2023.
| Towanda | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $61,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 9,159 U.S. towns with household incomes like Towanda’s, it is healthier than 67%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Towanda beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 19% of Towanda adults smoke cigarettes.
| Towanda | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Towanda | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 8.2% | 5.8% |
| More smokers | 19.2% | 15.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 9% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 20.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 76% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 50 to 27 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
| Towanda | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.5% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bradford County Veterans Memorial Park | 0.1 mi | 1 |
| 2. Third Ward Playground | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 2.6 years of the Sayre area’s $64K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 78% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its C for cost of living.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
None within 15 miles of Towanda; the nearest are
About 1 of every 100 Towanda residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
18 notable people were born in Towanda.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Towanda is a borough in, and the county seat of, Bradford County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is located 66 miles (106 km) northwest of Wilkes-Barre, on the Susquehanna River. The name means "where we bury the dead" in the Nanticoke language. As of the 2020 census, the population of Towanda was 2,833.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Towanda.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Towanda | #926 | C− | C | B− | B− | C+ |
| Towanda Township | — | — | A− | — | B− | C+ |
| North Towanda Township | — | — | B | — | B− | C+ |
| Wysox Township | — | — | A− | — | B− | C |
Towanda Township, North Towanda Township and Wysox Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Towanda Township, North Towanda Township and Wysox Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Towanda with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Towanda grades C− overall, better than 24% of U.S. towns and #926 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C+ for health, B− for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Pennsylvania has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Towanda sits nearer the middle.
The typical home is worth about $167,000, 42% below the Pennsylvania typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
18 notable people were born here, including Gregory La Cava and Andrew James Louis Brennan.