Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
West Earl Township's standout: crime is low: it reports less per resident than 95% of U.S. towns. Overall it grades A, 220th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania. The median household earns $98K and it is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 69% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 29% of residents are under 18 in West Earl Township, against 20% in Pennsylvania’s towns and 22% across U.S. towns. Only 131 of Pennsylvania’s 1,717 towns score lower on civic life. West Earl Township has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge and Bridge in West Earl Township.
Where West Earl Township beats most towns.
Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge
Its founding year, 1661, comes before those of 99% of the Pennsylvania towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 6,766 in 2000, 8,565 in 2020. The archive holds 2 old photos and papers and 6 maps from 1906 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far West Earl Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Earl Township. Close and well known come first.
27 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year
7 mi Theme parkDutch Wonderland
4 mi MuseumEphrata Cloister
32 mi GardenLongwood Gardens
10 mi MuseumRailroad Museum of Pennsylvania
38 mi MuseumWinterthur Museum, Garden and LibraryHersheypark: Michael Gray, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dutch Wonderland: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ephrata Cloister: 1549bcp at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Longwood Gardens: P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania: Dough4872, Public domain · Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library: Photo by and (c)2007 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man), CC BY-SA 2.5
Who provides power, water and the rest in West Earl 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 West Earl Township.
West Earl Township trades workers with Upper Leacock Township and other neighbors and owes part of its health edge to its incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding).
Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2025, 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
West Earl Township’s property crime rate is 3 per 1,000 residents.
| West Earl Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by Conestoga Valley SD. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brownstown El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 392 | A− |
| Lancaster County Career and Technology Center - BrownstownLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 25 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $482 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1978, 28 flood insurance claims have been paid out in West Earl Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
West Earl Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 22° and about 21 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
West Earl Township has about as many jobs (3,502) as working residents, but only 230 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 2,573 in 2013 to 3,502.
Most working residents leave West Earl Township for work: only 7% work in town. 2.6% of residents live below the poverty line in West Earl Township. Jobs based in West Earl Township grew to 3,502 in 2023, 929 more than in 2013.
| West Earl Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2.6% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $98,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 8,857 U.S. towns with household incomes like West Earl Township’s, it is less healthy than 63%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
West Earl Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 32% of West Earl Township adults have high blood pressure.
| West Earl Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 18% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | West Earl Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 8.7% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
1.7 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The trail density in West Earl Township is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| West Earl Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.3% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. West Earl Community Park | 0.7 mi | 9 |
| 2. Sylvan B. Fisher Township Park | 0.5 mi | 11 |
| 3. Eagle View Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
8 within 15 miles of the center of West Earl Township
About 2 of every 100 West Earl Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
2 places in West Earl Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Pennsylvania, US
West Earl Township is a township in northeastern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,565 at the 2020 census. The township was founded by its first settler, Hans Conrad Groff (1661-1746) in 1717.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with West Earl Township.
It grades higher overall than all 6 graded towns on its borders; Manheim Township (A) comes closest.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Earl Township | #220 | A | C+ | A+ | B+ | B |
| Warwick Township | #338 | A− | C | — | A− | A− |
| Brownstown | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Akron | #504 | B+ | C+ | — | B− | B |
| Ephrata Township | #784 | C+ | C− | — | B− | B |
| Upper Leacock Township | #595 | B | C− | — | B+ | B |
| Earl Township | #792 | C+ | C+ | — | C+ | C+ |
| Manheim Township | #227 | A | C− | B+ | A | A− |
Warwick Township, Akron, Ephrata Township, Upper Leacock Township and Earl Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Brownstown isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare West Earl Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. West Earl Township grades A overall, better than 88% of U.S. towns and #220 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B for health, A+ for safety and B+ for schools. Hazard risk 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+.
