Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Because it does well by almost any measure. Willistown Township earns an A+, 14th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania. The median household earns $187K, CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 97% of the country, and its public schools beat 92% of Pennsylvania towns on state tests and graduation. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $618K, 6.8 years of the Philadelphia metro’s $91K median household income. 66% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Willistown Township, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 29% and U.S. towns at 29%. Only 97 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns score higher on hazard risk. Willistown Township has 5 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Sugartown Historic District and Okehocking Historic District.
Where Willistown Township beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1681, comes before those of 98% of the Pennsylvania towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 2,066 in 1930, 11,273 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 1802.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Willistown Township is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for hazard risk (better than 98% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 14%), so the A+ overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Willistown Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi MuseumUSS New Jersey
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaLincoln Financial Field
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaXfinity Mobile Arena
Big draw17 mi MuseumEastern State Penitentiary
Big draw19 mi Ancient siteIndependence Hall3.0M visitors a year
Big draw20 mi MuseumLynnewood HallUSS New Jersey: Camera Operator: PH3 BRYANT, Public domain · Lincoln Financial Field: The original uploader was Betp at French Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Xfinity Mobile Arena: Jen Smith, CC BY 3.0 · Eastern State Penitentiary: Davidt8, Public domain · Independence Hall: Mys 721tx, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lynnewood Hall: Shuvaev, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Willistown 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 Willistown Township.
Willistown Township keeps more of its land conserved than most of Pennsylvania, has less tooth loss than most of Pennsylvania and trades workers with Philadelphia and other neighbors.
Its 4,067 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 94% of Pennsylvania towns.
21 miles of trail in 10 parks and preserves. The trail density in Willistown Township is 1.2 miles per square mile. Okehocking Preserve, at 175 acres with 6.9 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Okehocking Preserve | 6.9 mi | 175 |
| 2. Kirkwood Preserve | 4 mi | 101 |
| 3. Willisbrook Preserve | 2.6 mi | 123 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $618K.
Its public schools are run by Great Valley SD. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Wayne El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 542 | A |
| Villa Maria Academy High School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 417 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Pennsylvania is tooth loss: 5.9% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 14.5% statewide. Against the 1,193 U.S. towns with household incomes like Willistown Township’s, it is healthier than 70%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
12% of Willistown Township adults report frequent mental distress. Willistown Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 18 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 9.4% of Willistown Township adults report frequent physical distress.
| Willistown Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 9.4% | 14% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9% | 17% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 35% | 35% |
| What stands out | Willistown Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.9% | 14.5% |
| Fewer smokers | 9% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime is rare: 10 reported in 2024, 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
Willistown Township’s property crime rate is 2.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Willistown Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 2.5 per 1,000 residents | 6.8 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 95% of U.S. communities. Since 1994, 9 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Willistown Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Willistown Township has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 23° and about 8 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Willistown Township has about as many jobs (5,836) as working residents, but only 175 people both live and work here. 28.2% of workers work from home, against 15.6% across Pennsylvania.
2.5% of residents live below the poverty line in Willistown Township. Most working residents leave Willistown Township for work: only 3% work in town. 28% of workers work from home in Willistown Township.
| Willistown Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 28% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $187,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 2.5% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.3% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
23 within 15 miles of the center of Willistown Township
About 3 of every 100 Willistown Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
35% of the town is conserved land, across 10 parks and preserves.
5 places in Willistown Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Willistown Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,497 at the 2010 census. At the 1860 census, the population of Willistown was 1,521, and in 1980 it was 8,269.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Willistown Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willistown Township | #14 | A+ | D | A | A | A+ |
| Newtown Township | #36 | A+ | D | A | A | A |
| East Goshen Township | #164 | A | D | — | A | A+ |
| Malvern | #8 | A+ | D | A+ | A | A+ |
| Paoli | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Edgmont Township | #195 | A | D− | — | A+ | A |
| Tredyffrin Township | #62 | A+ | D | — | A+ | A+ |
| Easttown Township | #43 | A+ | D | A− | A+ | A+ |
East Goshen Township, Edgmont Township and Tredyffrin Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Paoli isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Willistown Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Willistown Township grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #14 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades A+ for health, A for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
.JPG){kind=link}
