Portrait of William Giles, miner-farmer of Union Township, Pennsylvania, 1940
Union Township’s story
Union Township in pictures
The archive holds 5 old photos and papers going back to 1940.
Explore the history →Union TownshipPA
A town of 1,517.
Population
1,517
2025 Census estimate · +0.9% since 2020
Median home value
$198K
Census ACS
Household income
$76K
median
Median age
37.7
years
Jobs based here
148
A commuter town
Is Union Township a good place to live?
Union Township’s weakest subject grade is a C for health. 28% of residents are under 18 in Union Township, above both Pennsylvania’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (22%). The biggest park or preserve is State Game Lands Number 212, at 492 acres. Union Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
A commuter town
98% of working residents leave Union Township for work
Where Union Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
148jobs based in Union Township
2%of working residents work in town
17 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Union Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Union Township is from typical.
HealthLess healthy than 69% of U.S. towns; Wellspan Evangelical Community Hospital 17.7 miles awayCOpen →Jobs & income$76K median household incomeCOpen →SchoolsBeat 59% of Pennsylvania districts on tests and graduationBOpen →Hazard riskFEMA risk higher than 41% of U.S. communities; inland flooding tops the listBOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 4.3 of 20; 17% of households have no car; 13% of workers walk, bike or ride transitBOpen →Cost of livingTypical home $198K, 3 years of the Selinsgrove area’s $67K median household incomeB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors6% conserved landCOpen →HistoryB−Open →Civic life3.3 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsC−Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Union Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Union Township, and how to reach them.
PowerPPL Electric Utilities18.6¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
Internet8 providers72% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Union Township’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Pennsylvania you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person until 15 days before Election Day, or by mail (received 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereSnyder County Board of ElectionsSnyder County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Dec 2025
ZIP codes17864, 17870, 1785317864 86% · 17870 13% · 17853 1%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Union Township.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C
Union Township has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Most working residents leave Union Township for work: only 2% work in town. Jobs based in Union Township grew to 148 in 2023, 22 more than in 2013. 13% of residents live below the poverty line in Union Township, above both the Pennsylvania town median (7.6%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%).
2%work in town
| Union Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 18% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.4% | 6.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Union Township2%
Penn Township8%
Selinsgrove6%
Washington Township4%
Chapman Township4%
17 mi
median commute distance
148
jobs based in Union Township
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
B
Walkability grade: more walkable than 56% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HealthC
A smaller share of adults had a checkup this year in Union Township than in most of Pennsylvania or the rest of the country
75% of Union Township adults had a checkup this year. Union Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 10. 9.1% of Union Township adults 18 to 64 have no health insurance.
31%healthier than U.S. townsCHealth Grade
| Union Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 75% | 79% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 24% | 25% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
26 measures vs. Pennsylvania
0 better16 too close to call10 worse
| What stands out | Union Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 9.1% | 5.8% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 18.7% | 14.5% |
| More smokers | 19.9% | 15.8% |
Wellspan Evangelical Community Hospital
17.7 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Climate
In Union Township, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
Union Township has chilly winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 20° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
29″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter23–38°
Spring38–60°
Summer60–82°
Fall43–63°
Oct 22
typical first frost
Apr 25
typical last frost
+1.2°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade B
Inland flooding leads a moderate hazard risk in Union Township
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1984, 25 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Union Township.
41risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingHurricanesStrong wind
25
paid flood claims since 1984
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
6.1%conserved
6.1%
conserved · 572 of 9,390 acres
0.3 mi
of trails · 0 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. State Game Lands Number 212 | — | 492 |
| 2. Port Trevorton Fireman's Park | — | 10 |
| 3. State Game Lands Number 233 | — | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Union Township
18pages on Union Township
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Union Township
About 1 of every 100 Union Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
About Union Township
Township in Pennsylvania, United States
Union Township is a township in Snyder County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,493 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 15 sq mi
Union Township’s neighbors
8 towns share a border with Union Township.
Chapman TownshipPenn TownshipPort TrevortonJackson TownshipLower Mahanoy TownshipHerndonLower Augusta TownshipWashington TownshipUnion Township
How the neighbors grade
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Township | — | — | B− | — | B | C |
| Chapman Township | — | — | A | — | B | C |
| Penn Township | #756 | C+ | B | — | B | B− |
| Port Trevorton | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jackson Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lower Mahanoy Township | — | — | B+ | — | B+ | C |
| Herndon | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lower Augusta Township | — | — | A− | — | B+ | C |
Union Township, Chapman Township, Lower Mahanoy Township and Lower Augusta Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Union Township, Chapman Township, Penn Township, Lower Mahanoy Township and Lower Augusta Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Port Trevorton, Jackson Township and Herndon aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Union Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Union Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Union Township, PA expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.