Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Upper Merion Township grades B overall, 534th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 97% of the country. The median household earns $122K and its schools outperform 80% of the state's. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $455K, 5 years of the Philadelphia metro’s $91K median household income. 65% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Upper Merion Township, above both Pennsylvania’s towns (29%) and U.S. towns (29%). On safety, just 37 of Pennsylvania’s 634 towns do worse. Upper Merion Township is more walkable than 85% of U.S. towns.
Where Upper Merion Township beats most towns.
Washington's Headquarters
Washington's Headquarters is one of 2 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 5,889 in 1930, 33,613 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1773 and 7 maps from 1894 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Upper Merion Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Upper Merion Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw17 mi MuseumUSS New Jersey
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaLincoln Financial Field
Big draw13 mi MuseumLynnewood Hall
Big draw14 mi MuseumEastern State Penitentiary
Big draw17 mi Stadium & arenaXfinity Mobile Arena
Big draw16 mi Ancient siteIndependence Hall3.0M visitors a yearUSS New Jersey: Camera Operator: PH3 BRYANT, Public domain · Lincoln Financial Field: The original uploader was Betp at French Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lynnewood Hall: Shuvaev, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Eastern State Penitentiary: Davidt8, Public domain · Xfinity Mobile Arena: Jen Smith, CC BY 3.0 · Independence Hall: Mys 721tx, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Upper Merion 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 Merion Township.
Upper Merion Township draws workers from Philadelphia and beyond and has less tooth loss than most of Pennsylvania, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
21 miles of trail in 17 parks and preserves. The trail density in Upper Merion Township is 1.2 miles per square mile. McKaig Nature Education Center, at 95 acres with 3.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Upper Merion Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 17% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.2 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. McKaig Nature Education Center | 3.6 mi | 95 |
| 2. Upper Merion Township Park | 0.6 mi | 19 |
| 3. Belmont Park | 0.3 mi | 3 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A− for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $455K.
Three of its 10 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Merion Area MSLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 1,348 | B |
| Upper Merion Area HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,326 | B |
| Caley El SchTop results in townGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 372 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Pennsylvania is tooth loss: 6.5% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 14.5% statewide.
8.9% of Upper Merion Township adults report frequent physical distress. Upper Merion Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 20 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 13% of Upper Merion Township adults report frequent mental distress.
| Upper Merion Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.9% | 14% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 34% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 17% | 14% |
| What stands out | Upper Merion Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.5% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.3% | 7.7% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 74.8% | 79.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
60,715 jobs are based in Upper Merion Township, 3.4 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. 29.8% of workers work from home, against 15.6% across Pennsylvania.
Most working residents leave Upper Merion Township for work: only 16% work in town. 30% of workers work from home in Upper Merion Township. Since 2013, Upper Merion Township has added 4,840 jobs, to 60,715 in 2023.
| Upper Merion Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 30% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $122,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 4.5% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 1,532 to 971 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Upper Merion Township’s property crime rate is 25.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Upper Merion Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 25.7 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Upper Merion Township has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 23° and about 8 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
93 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 12 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 67% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 93 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Upper Merion Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
43 within 15 miles of the center of Upper Merion Township
About 7 of every 100 Upper Merion Township residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
28,395 counted in 2010 and 33,613 in 2020; an estimated 36,674 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 9.1% since 2020, after 18.4% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
7 places in Upper Merion Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Upper Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 33,613 at the 2020 U.S. Census. Located 16 miles (26 km) from Philadelphia, it consists of the villages of Gulph Mills, King of Prussia, Swedeland, Swedesburg, and portions of Radnor, and Wayne. The westernmost part of the township comprises the largest part of the 1,300-acre (5 km2) Valley Forge National Historical Park. The township is the home of the King of Prussia mall, the third-largest shopping mall in the United States in terms of gross leasable area. King of Prussia also contains a major office park hosting firms such as Lockheed Martin and GlaxoSmithKline. The name Merion orig…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Upper Merion Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Merion Township | #534 | B | D | C− | A− | A+ |
| King of Prussia | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tredyffrin Township | #62 | A+ | D | — | A+ | A+ |
| West Norriton Township | #817 | C+ | D | C+ | C− | A |
| Schuylkill Township | #64 | A+ | C− | A+ | B+ | A |
| Bridgeport | #439 | B+ | C+ | C | A− | A |
| Swedeland | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Plymouth Township | #454 | B+ | C− | D | A+ | A |
Tredyffrin Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. King of Prussia and Swedeland aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Upper Merion Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Upper Merion Township grades B overall, better than 64% of U.S. towns and #534 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades A+ for health, C− for safety and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
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