Idlewild · Photo: Smallbones · CC0Even on the area’s higher pay, Upper Providence Township costs more to live in than 84% of U.S. towns
It ranks #910 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania for affordability. Home prices around Upper Providence Township have risen about 45% over the past 5 years. No new homes were permitted in 2025.
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. Upper Providence Township’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: 16% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 36% of renters.
In dollars
- $1,910a 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
- 6.9 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$91K, Philadelphia-area income
- 21%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 36%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Pennsylvania: 48%Census 2020–24
- 16%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
Housing in Upper Providence Township, in brief
Homes haven’t kept up with new residents
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Upper Providence Township gained 710 residents while 128 new homes were permitted: about 5.5 new residents per new home, against 1.4 across Pennsylvania. New homes ↓
Rent is easier on renters here
36% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent, against 48% across Pennsylvania. A standard two-bedroom is 15% of the median household income. Renting ↓
Written from the data on this page. There’s no Zillow index for Upper Providence 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 (2025 partly estimated); incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Upper Providence Township’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Upper Providence Township is more affordable than 16% of U.S. towns, #910 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 45% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP code around Upper Providence Township rose 45% over the past 5 years, about the same as across Pennsylvania. Last year prices rose 1.9%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Upper Providence Township home at roughly $756,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $756K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Upper Providence Township, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
A typical home costs 6.9 years of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Upper Providence Township’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $418K short of a typical Upper Providence Township home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,910 a month here, $2,840 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Upper Providence Township’s typical property tax (1.25% 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 $1,910
Renters already here pay a median of $1,566, 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.
No new homes permitted in 2025
No permits for new homes were issued in Upper Providence Township in 2025. The last year with any was 2022 (3 new homes).
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Upper Providence Township gained 710 residents while 128 new homes were permitted: about 5.5 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) | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $3 million |
| 2021 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $100,000 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $122,000 |
| 2018 | 6 | 6 | 0 | $1.9 million |
| 2017 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $420,000 |
| 2016 | 7 | 7 | 0 | $2.7 million |
| 2015 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $2.3 million |
| 2014 | 48 | 48 | 0 | $3.8 million |
| 2013 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $1.5 million |
| 2012 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| 2011 | 29 | 29 | 0 | $5.3 million |
| 2010 | 17 | 17 | 0 | $3.8 million |
| 2009 | 3 | 3 | 0 | $676,000 |
| 2008 | 12 | 9 | 3 | $3 million |
| 2007 | 11 | 5 | 6 | $1.7 million |
| 2006 | 12 | 6 | 6 | $1.9 million |
| 2005 | 15 | 6 | 9 | $2.3 million |
| 2004 | 10 | 4 | 6 | $1.5 million |
| 2003 | 6 | 3 | 3 | $932,000 |
| 2002 | 105 | 18 | 87 | $9 million |
| 2001 | 102 | 17 | 85 | $8.7 million |
| 2000 | 123 | 18 | 105 | $10.2 million |
Upper Providence Township's permit office didn't report to the Census in 2025, so the 2025 figures are Census estimates.
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
High tax bills, but a low tax rate
The median bill is $7,908 (Pennsylvania: $3,311), because homes cost more. As a share of value it’s 1.25% 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 Providence Township
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.
Upper Providence Township vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Upper Providence Township. Edgmont Township and Newtown Township and Marple Township and Middletown Township and Nether Providence Township and Springfield 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Providence Township | C− | — | $632K | 1.25% | $1,910 |
| Middletown Township | D− | — | $501K | 1.40% | $1,980 |
| Marple Township | C− | — | $510K | 1.19% | $2,010 |
| Edgmont Township | D− | — | $614K | 1.39% | $2,300 |
| Media | C− | $631K | $468K | 1.25% | $1,910 |
| Nether Providence Township | D | — | $459K | 2.18%+ | $1,900 |
| Newtown Township | D | — | $611K | 1.07% | $2,260 |
| Springfield Township | C− | — | $415K | 1.88% | $1,910 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures. “+”: the Census reports the tax bill only as $10,000 or more, so the rate is at least that.
Questions about the cost of living in Upper Providence Township
Is Upper Providence Township expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Upper Providence Township costs more than 84% of U.S. towns: a C− for cost of living, #910 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The typical home costs 6.9 years of the median household income of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area ($91K).
How much is rent in Upper Providence Township?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,910 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,566 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Upper Providence Township?
The median bill is $7,908 a year, 1.25% of the median home value (Pennsylvania: $3,311, 1.30%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Upper Providence 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.