Photo: Jakec · CC BY-SA 4.0Measured against area pay, Upper Paxton Township costs less to live in than 67% of U.S. towns
It ranks #238 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania for affordability. Home prices around Upper Paxton Township have risen about 38% over the past 5 years. Builders were permitted 6 new homes in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area ($81K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
In dollars, homes in Upper Paxton Township cost less than the Pennsylvania typical home. But the grade compares costs with what households in the area earn, and Harrisburg-area incomes are lower too ($81K, against $74K for the typical U.S. town). Property tax takes 1.44% of a home’s value a year (Pennsylvania: 1.30%), and 54% of renters pay 30% or more of income for housing.
In dollars
- $1,060a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 99prices across the Harrisburg metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 96)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 2.3 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$81K, Harrisburg-area income
- 12%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 33%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Upper Paxton Township, in brief
Nearly every household owns
90% of Upper Paxton Township households own their home, against 69% across Pennsylvania. There are only 164 renter households, so rentals are scarce. Property taxes ↓
Fewer people, more homes
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Upper Paxton Township lost 151 residents while 63 new homes were permitted. New homes ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Upper Paxton Township, so the typical value is an estimate: the Census median carried forward with the federal house price index; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Upper Paxton Township’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Upper Paxton Township is more affordable than 67% of U.S. towns, #238 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; rent holds it up.
Home prices up 38% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Upper Paxton Township rose 38% over the past 5 years, slower than across Pennsylvania (48%). Last year prices rose 1.3%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Upper Paxton Township home at roughly $207,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $207K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Upper Paxton Township, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
A year’s rent takes 12% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Upper Paxton Township’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Upper Paxton Township home, with $87K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,060 a month here, $270 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Upper Paxton Township’s typical property tax (1.44% 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 $1,060
Renters already here pay a median of $797, 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 (Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
6 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 6 new homes in Upper Paxton Township in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $2 million to build. That's 1.5 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Pennsylvania (2). Over the past 10 years, Upper Paxton Township has permitted 36 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Upper Paxton Township's population fell by 151 even though 63 new homes were permitted. Homes are holding fewer people: households are getting smaller, or more homes are used part of the year. 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 | $656,000 |
| 2025 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $2 million |
| 2024 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $745,000 |
| 2023 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $560,000 |
| 2022 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $560,000 |
| 2021 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| 2020 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $300,000 |
| 2019 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2018 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $225,000 |
| 2017 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1 million |
| 2016 | 4 | 4 | 0 | $1 million |
| 2015 | 5 | 5 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| 2014 | 22 | 22 | 0 | $5.3 million |
| 2013 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2012 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $364,000 |
| 2011 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $400,000 |
| 2010 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| 2009 | 2 | 2 | 0 | $406,000 |
| 2008 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.2 million |
| 2007 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.4 million |
| 2006 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $2 million |
| 2005 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2004 | 45 | 45 | 0 | $4.7 million |
| 2003 | 18 | 18 | 0 | $2.9 million |
| 2002 | 11 | 11 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| 2001 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $2.4 million |
| 2000 | 12 | 12 | 0 | $1.3 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Low tax bills, but a high tax rate
The median bill is $2,720, under the Pennsylvania median of $3,311, because homes cost less. As a share of value it’s 1.44% 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 Upper Paxton Township
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 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 | 99 | PA 98 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 101 | PA 99 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 108 | PA 109 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 98 | 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.
Upper Paxton Township vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Upper Paxton Township. Liverpool Township and Mifflin Township and Washington Township and Buffalo Township and Lower Mahanoy Township and Halifax Township and Liverpool 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Paxton Township | B+ | — | $189K | 1.44% | $1,060 |
| Lower Mahanoy Township | B+ | — | $215K | 1.25% | $1,030 |
| Liverpool Township | B | — | $275K | 1.22% | $1,050 |
| Buffalo Township | A | — | $223K | 1.26% | $1,040 |
| Liverpool | – | — | $198K | 1.39% | $1,040 |
| Halifax Township | B+ | — | $205K | 1.52% | $1,060 |
| Mifflin Township | – | — | $235K | 1.27% | $1,050 |
| Washington Township | B+ | — | $234K | 1.33% | $1,080 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures. “—” under Cost: not graded (too little Census data, or under 1,000 residents).
Questions about the cost of living in Upper Paxton Township
Is Upper Paxton Township expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Upper Paxton Township costs less than 67% of U.S. towns: a B+ for cost of living, #238 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The typical home costs 2.3 years of the median household income of the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area ($81K).
How much is rent in Upper Paxton Township?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,060 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $797 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Upper Paxton Township?
The median bill is $2,720 a year, 1.44% of the median home value (Pennsylvania: $3,311, 1.30%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Upper Paxton Township buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. 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.