Augustus Lutheran Church · Public domainEven on the area’s higher pay, Trappe costs more to live in than 89% of U.S. towns
It ranks #974 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania for affordability.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area ($91K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Trappe’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($91K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 18% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 62% of renters.
In dollars
- $2,290a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 103prices across the Philadelphia metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 113)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 4.6 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$91K, Philadelphia-area income
- 25%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 62%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Pennsylvania: 48%Census 2020–24
- 18%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Trappe, in brief
About two in three homes sell above asking
In May, 67% of the homes that sold went for more than the asking price and 80% went under contract within two weeks. There were about 1.6 months of homes for sale at that pace, against 2.7 across Pennsylvania: 14 listings for 9 sales that month. Expect competition on well-priced homes. How fast homes sell ↓
About two in three renters are stretched
62% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent, against 48% across Pennsylvania. That’s despite a standard two-bedroom costing just 22% of the median household income, so renters here earn far less than the typical household. Renting ↓
Homes haven’t kept up with new residents
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Trappe gained 493 residents while 102 new homes were permitted: about 4.8 new residents per new home, against 1.4 across Pennsylvania. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Trappe, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Trappe’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Trappe is more affordable than 11% of U.S. towns, #974 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Property tax pulls the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Home prices up 52% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP code around Trappe rose 52% over the past 5 years, faster than across Pennsylvania (48%). Last year prices rose 5.7%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Trappe home at roughly $497,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $497K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Trappe, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
Too few sales to read the market
Only 9 homes sold in May 2026, the latest month in Redfin’s figures: too few to describe the market or quote a median sale price.
A typical home costs 4.6 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Trappe’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $169K short of a typical Trappe home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,290 a month here, $920 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Trappe’s typical property tax (1.46% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $2,290
Renters already here pay a median of $1,865, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
5 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 5 new homes in Trappe in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $1.8 million to build. That's 1.2 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Pennsylvania (2). Over the past 10 years, Trappe has permitted 130 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Trappe gained 493 residents while 102 new homes were permitted: about 4.8 new residents per new home. Population grew faster than building, so existing homes filled up: a sign of tight supply. Across Pennsylvania: 1.4 new residents per new home.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 2 | 2 | 0 | $697,000 |
| 2025 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $1.8 million |
| 2024 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $2.7 million |
| 2023 | 13 | 13 | 0 | $4.3 million |
| 2022 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $597,000 |
| 2021 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $992,000 |
| 2020 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2019 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $440,000 |
| 2018 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $282,000 |
| 2017 | 58 | 31 | 27 | $6.9 million |
| 2016 | 30 | 30 | 0 | $3.7 million |
| 2015 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $150,000 |
| 2014 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $140,000 |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $300,000 |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| 2009 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2008 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2006 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $108,000 |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2004 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $220,000 |
| 2003 | 39 | 39 | 0 | $2.2 million |
| 2002 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| 2001 | 11 | 11 | 0 | $526,000 |
| 2000 | 31 | 31 | 0 | $1.3 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the Pennsylvania norm
The median bill is $6,085 (Pennsylvania: $3,311), 1.46% of a home’s value a year, against 1.30% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Trappe
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area, or Pennsylvania. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 103 | PA 98 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 97 | PA 99 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 114 | PA 109 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 103 | PA 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Trappe vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Trappe. Upper Providence Township and Perkiomen Township have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trappe | D | — | $415K | 1.46% | $2,290 |
| Collegeville | D | $581K | $443K | 1.49% | $2,290 |
| Upper Providence Township | D | — | $539K | 1.24% | $2,200 |
| Perkiomen Township | C− | — | $435K | 1.43% | $2,130 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Trappe
Is Trappe expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Trappe costs more than 89% of U.S. towns: a D for cost of living, #974 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The typical home costs 4.6 years of the median household income of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area ($91K).
How much is rent in Trappe?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $2,290 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,865 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Trappe?
The median bill is $6,085 a year, 1.46% of the median home value (Pennsylvania: $3,311, 1.30%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Trappe buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.