Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,110, settled in 1904.
West York gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $124K for a typical one, or 1.5 years of the York metro’s $85K median household income. It grades C+ overall, 745th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 86% of the country, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 73% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 93% of U.S. towns. West York’s violent offense rate is 3.9 per 1,000 residents, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 0.7 and U.S. towns at 1.6. Only 170 of Pennsylvania’s 1,717 towns score lower on civic life. West York has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Ashley and Bailey Company Silk Mill and West Side Sanitarium.
Where West York beats most towns.
4,617 counted in 2010 and 5,094 in 2020; an estimated 5,110 in 2025.
Growth has leveled off: within 1% of 2020, after 10.3% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far West York is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,435 in 1910, 5,094 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1899 and 4 maps from 1954 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in West York, 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 York.
West York has homes that are cheap against local pay and is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding).
31% of adults get no exercise outside work in West York. Of 26 CDC measures, West York beats the Pennsylvania average on 1 and trails it on 13. Two figures for adults here: 21% report frequent mental distress, 44% sleep under 7 hours.
| West York | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 16% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 38% | 36% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 19% | 19% |
| What stands out | West York | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 6.4% | 8.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 12.9% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its one school is below. Public schools: West York Area SD. 645 students attend the town’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| West York Area MSLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 645 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Jobs based here fell from 968 in 2013 to 682.
The share of working residents in West York who work locally: 1.5%. Employers in West York shed 286 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 682. In West York, the average trip to work is 21 minutes. The top destinations are West Manchester Township (12%), York (11%) and Springettsbury Township (8%).
| West York | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.5% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 29 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 87% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns.
In West York, the property crime rate is 12.3 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $282 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
The national flood insurance program has paid 6 claims in West York since 1978. FEMA puts nearly three quarters of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 8% to hurricanes. Federal disaster aid has reached households in West York once, in 2021.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 22° and about 29 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Slagle Park | — | 3 |
| 2. Shelly Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 1.5 years of the York metro’s $85K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 96% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living.
On the market in West York: a median 4 days to sell. West York: 54% of households are owner-occupiers. The midpoint rent for West York comes to $971 a month.
| West York | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $971 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of West York
About 2 of every 100 West York residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Where West York’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in West York on the National Register of Historic Places.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
West York is a borough, adjacent to the City of York, in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,094 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with West York.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West York | #745 | C+ | A− | C | C+ | D |
| West Manchester Township | #743 | B− | C+ | C− | C+ | B |
| York | #1023 | D | B | C− | D− | D− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
West York grades C+ overall, better than 45% of U.S. towns and #745 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades D for health, C for safety and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $124,000, 57% below the Pennsylvania typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
