Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Wilson is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades B overall, 609th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is incomes: the median household earns $83K. It also does better than most on schools: its public schools beat 62% of Pennsylvania towns on state tests and graduation. A typical home there costs about $211K, 2.5 years of the Allentown metro’s $85K median household income. Wilson is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns. Only 15 of Pennsylvania’s 1,717 towns score lower on civic life. 27% of residents are under 18 in Wilson, above both Pennsylvania’s towns (20%) and U.S. towns (22%).
Where Wilson beats most towns.
Where Wilson’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Wilson is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,196 in 1920, 8,259 in 2020. The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 1902 and 4 maps from 1890 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wilson. Close and well known come first.
17 mi Theme parkDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
2 mi Park & preserveLehigh River
33 mi LakeLake Musconetcong
13 mi Stadium & arenaPPL Center
in town Theme parkBushkill Park
34 mi Park & preserveDuke FarmsDorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom: Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lehigh River: The original uploader was Malepheasant at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · Lake Musconetcong: Zeete, CC BY-SA 4.0 · PPL Center: Hunter Kahn, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bushkill Park: Mr6507, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Duke Farms: Ekem, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wilson, 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 Wilson.
Wilson has homes that are cheap against local pay and is safe by national standards but not by Pennsylvania’s; it also has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
Jobs based here fell from 3,308 in 2013 to 1,940.
Most working residents leave Wilson for work: only 4% work in town. Jobs based in Wilson fell to 1,940 in 2023, 1,368 fewer than in 2013. The top destinations are Palmer Township (8%), Bethlehem (7%) and Easton (6%).
| Wilson | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 4% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by Wilson Area SD. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Wilson Area HS, with 709 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilson Area Intermediate SchLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 643 | C |
| Wilson Area HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 709 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Wilson has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 20° and about 33 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
At 21 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 77% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns.
The property crime rate in Wilson is 11.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Wilson | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.7 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
0.8 miles of trail in 3 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Meuser Park, at 23 acres.
| Wilson | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.5% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Meuser Park | 0.6 mi | 23 |
| 2. Hugh Moore Park | — | 4 |
| 3. Liberty Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Wilson beats the Pennsylvania average on 1 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 30% of adults have high blood pressure in Wilson.
| Wilson | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 79% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 6.9% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Wilson | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.4% | 8.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 10.3% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 51% of U.S. communities. Since 2011, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wilson.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 2.5 years of the Allentown metro’s $85K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 81% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its C+ for cost of living.
59% of Wilson households own their home.
| Wilson | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,370 a month | $1,114 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
7 within 15 miles of the center of Wilson
About 5 of every 100 Wilson residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Wilson is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,259 at the 2020 census. Wilson is located adjacent to the city of Easton and is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. as of the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Wilson.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilson | #609 | B | C+ | C+ | B | B− |
| Palmer Township | #578 | B | C− | B | C | A− |
| West Easton | — | — | B | — | B | B− |
| Easton | #841 | C | C+ | B | C | C+ |
West Easton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. West Easton reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Wilson with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Wilson grades B overall, better than 57% of U.S. towns and #609 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B− for health, C+ for safety and B for schools.
Pennsylvania has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Wilson sits nearer the middle.
The typical home is worth about $211,000, 27% 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 C+.
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