Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Upper Darby Township's standout: it is among the most walkable places in the country. Overall it grades C−, 953rd among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns. Its weakest subject is safety: its crime rate is higher than 84% of U.S. towns, with 204 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 3 places on the National Register. Upper Darby Township’s property crime rate is 33 per 1,000 residents, above both the Pennsylvania town median (5.7) and the median of U.S. towns (9.9). Only 85 of Pennsylvania’s 1,717 towns score lower on civic life. The biggest park or preserve is Cobbs Creek Park, at 50 acres.
Where Upper Darby Township beats most towns.
Lower Swedish Cabin
Its founding year, 1653, is the earliest of any Pennsylvania town we grade.
Census counts: 3,821 in 1900, 85,681 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1936 and 6 maps from 1894 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Upper Darby Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Upper Darby Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi MuseumUSS New Jersey
Big draw7 mi Stadium & arenaLincoln Financial Field
Big draw7 mi Stadium & arenaXfinity Mobile Arena
Big draw6 mi MuseumEastern State Penitentiary
Big draw7 mi Ancient siteIndependence Hall3.0M visitors a year
Big draw12 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 · Eastern State Penitentiary: Davidt8, Public domain · Independence Hall: Mys 721tx, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lynnewood Hall: Shuvaev, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Upper Darby 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 Upper Darby Township.
Upper Darby Township reports property crime at about twice the Pennsylvania rate, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
5.8 miles of trail in 15 parks and preserves. Upper Darby Township’s trail density is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Upper Darby Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.5% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Pilgrim Park | 1.3 mi | 39 |
| 2. Gillespie Park | 0.9 mi | 36 |
| 3. Cobbs Creek Park | 0.6 mi | 50 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Upper Darby SD. Two of its 20 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beverly Hills MSLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,475 | D |
| Upper Darby SHSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 4,187 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Property crime runs at 33 per 1,000 residents, about twice the Pennsylvania rate, most of it theft.
The violent crime rate in Upper Darby Township is 2.4 per 1,000 residents. Upper Darby Township reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 84% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Most working residents leave Upper Darby Township for work: only 7% work in town. 14% of residents live below the poverty line in Upper Darby Township. The top destinations are Philadelphia (31%), Lower Merion Township (5%) and Upper Merion Township (3%).
| Upper Darby Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $71,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 13% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
363 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 57 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 70% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 363 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Upper Darby Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Upper Darby Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 26° and about 23 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
People 65 and older are 13% of residents (20% statewide). 23% of Upper Darby Township residents are under 18. 33% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Pennsylvania.
| Upper Darby Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 21% | 18% |
| Median age | 35.7 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 23% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 29% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.2 points). Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women. Median age: women 35.7, men 35.6.
| Upper Darby Township | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 12.6% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.6% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.4% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 16.9% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.8% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.3% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.6% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 4.4% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 9.5% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 29% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.9% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.7% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.1% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.8% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Upper Darby Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 3 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2.
| Upper Darby Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 38% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 24% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 14% | 14% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | Upper Darby Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.7% | 8.8% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 6.1% | 7.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 7.8% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
42 within 15 miles of the center of Upper Darby Township
About 7 of every 100 Upper Darby Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
Where Upper Darby Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 places in Upper Darby Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
24 notable people were born in Upper Darby Township.
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a home rule township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the township had a total population of 85,681, making it the state's sixth-most populated municipality after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Reading, and Erie. Upper Darby borders Philadelphia, the nation's sixth-most populous city, and constitutes part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the nation's seventh-largest metropolitan area. Upper Darby is home to the Tower Theater, a historic music venue on 69th Street built in the 1920s, and to several Underground Railroad sites. In August 2019, the radio tower on top of the theater was re…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Upper Darby Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Darby Township | #953 | C− | C | C− | C | B |
| Philadelphia | #1011 | D | B− | D− | D | C |
| Drexel Hill | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Clifton Heights | #960 | C− | C | C+ | C | C− |
| Springfield Township | #228 | A | C− | C | A+ | A |
| Lansdowne | #885 | C | C+ | C+ | C− | B− |
| Aldan | #764 | C+ | C+ | B | C− | C+ |
| Yeadon | #979 | C− | C+ | — | C− | C− |
Yeadon reports no FBI crime data of its own. Drexel Hill isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Upper Darby Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Upper Darby Township grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #953 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B for health, C− for safety and C for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C.
24 notable people were born here, including Tina Fey and Jamie Kennedy.
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