West Penn TownshipPA
A town of 4,616, settled in 1828.
Is West Penn Township a good place to live?
West Penn Township grades B− overall, 689th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It reports less crime per resident than 85% of U.S. towns. Its lowest everyday mark is in health: residents are less healthy than 66% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. A typical home there costs about $234K, 3.4 years of the Pottsville area’s $68K median household income. 34% of residents are 65 or older in West Penn Township, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 21% and U.S. towns at 18%. The biggest place to walk is State Game Lands 217, 1,598 acres with 1.4 miles of trail.
What makes West Penn Township stand out
Where West Penn Township beats most towns.
89% of working residents leave West Penn Township for work
Where West Penn Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How West Penn Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far West Penn Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to West Penn Township: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in West Penn 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in West Penn Township.
West Penn Township has added half again as many jobs in ten years and is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s.
West Penn Township earns an A for safety
At 6.8 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 69% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 42 to 10 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property crime rate in West Penn Township is 2.2 per 1,000 residents.
| West Penn Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.2 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
West Penn Township’s schools rank behind 61% of Pennsylvania districts
Its public schools are run by Tamaqua Area SD. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Penn Twp El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 250 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
In West Penn Township, the median age runs higher than in the typical Pennsylvania or U.S. town
West Penn Township’s median age is 56 years. West Penn Township has grown 5.8% since 2020, to 4,616 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 16% of residents are under 18 in West Penn Township.
| West Penn Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 56 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 16% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 29% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
46% women, 54% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.2 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| West Penn Township | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.1% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.1% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.9% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 5.9% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.9% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.5% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.1% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 19.9% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 13.6% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.8% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 37.6% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.3% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 14.7% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.5% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.2% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,600, single groups can be off by several points
Most of West Penn Township’s workers commute out: the town has 0.5 jobs for each of them
Jobs based here grew from 614 in 2013 to 963.
Most working residents leave West Penn Township for work: only 11% work in town. Jobs based in West Penn Township grew to 963 in 2023, 349 more than in 2013. The top destinations are Upper Macungie Township (7%), Tamaqua (5%) and Lower Macungie Township (3%).
| West Penn Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.8% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $72,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
West Penn Township earns a C for health
19% of West Penn Township adults smoke cigarettes. West Penn Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 15% of West Penn Township adults report frequent physical distress.
| West Penn Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 36% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | West Penn Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.3% | 7.7% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.4% | 7.4% |
| More adults with arthritis | 37.5% | 30.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Snowy winters and pleasant summers in West Penn Township
West Penn Township has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 43 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
West Penn Township has set aside 11.2% of its land for conservation
7.4 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. State Game Lands 217 | 1.4 mi | 1,598 |
| 2. State Game Lands Number 257 | 0.1 mi | 1,431 |
| 3. State Game Lands Number 106 | — | 55 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Moderate risk in West Penn Township, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1996, 4 flood insurance claims have been paid out in West Penn Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom and 35 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Penn Township. Close and well known come first.
21 mi Theme parkDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom35 mi Theme parkKnoebels Amusement Resort
23 mi Stadium & arenaPPL Center
21 mi Park & preserveRoadside America
10 mi Park & preserveHawk Mountain Sanctuary
11 mi MuseumAsa Packer MansionPhoto credits
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom: Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · PPL Center: Hunter Kahn, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Roadside America: Mark Fleisher, President and CEO of Aim Advertising in Lewisburg, PA,, Public domain · Hawk Mountain Sanctuary: Zeete, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Asa Packer Mansion: Chris18240 (talk), Public domain
_08.jpg){kind=link}
Everything we know about West Penn Township
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of West Penn Township
About 4 of every 100 West Penn Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
About West Penn Township
Township in Pennsylvania, US
West Penn Township is a township in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,383 in the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 58 sq mi
West Penn Township’s neighbors
7 towns share a border with West Penn Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Penn Township | #689 | B− | B− | A | C+ | C |
| Walker Township | — | — | B− | — | C+ | C− |
| Lynn Township | #387 | A− | C+ | — | A− | B+ |
| East Brunswick Township | — | — | C+ | — | B+ | C+ |
| East Penn Township | #869 | C | B | — | B− | B− |
| Mahoning Township | #852 | C | B− | C | B− | B− |
| Tamaqua | #843 | C | B+ | B+ | C+ | D |
| Heidelberg Township | #307 | A− | B | — | A− | A− |
Walker Township and East Brunswick Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Walker Township, Lynn Township, East Brunswick Township, East Penn Township and Heidelberg Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare West Penn Township with a neighbor →
Questions about West Penn Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is West Penn Township, PA a good place to live?
West Penn Township grades B− overall, better than 51% of U.S. towns and #689 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C for health, A for safety and C+ for schools.
Is West Penn Township, PA expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.