Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,752, settled in 1802.
Zelienople is one of the best-graded places in America: an A+, ranked 72nd of 1032 in Pennsylvania. Crime is low: it reports less per resident than 95% of U.S. towns, its public schools beat 89% of Pennsylvania towns on state tests and graduation, and residents are healthier than 81% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its lowest mark, a C+, is in cost of living. Zelienople’s trail density is 2.4 miles per square mile, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 0.4 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Passavant House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Only 8 of the 529 Pennsylvania towns we compare have a lower property crime rate than Zelienople.
Where Zelienople beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| St. Gregory Elementary School | PK–8 | 238 |
| St. Stephens Lutheran Academy | 3–12 | 152 |
3% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Zelienople is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 385 in 1850, 3,912 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1792 and 5 maps from 1908 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Zelienople, 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 Zelienople.
Zelienople is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has home values falling while Pennsylvania’s rise, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding).
Zelienople Community Park, at 32 acres with 1.1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. In 4 parks and preserves, walkers have 5.1 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Zelienople Community Park | 1.1 mi | 32 |
| 2. Four Corners Park | — | 2 |
| 3. St. Peters Reformed Church Memorial Park | 0.1 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Gregory Elementary School PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 238 | – |
| St. Stephens Lutheran Academy PrivateLargest high schoolGrades 3–12 | Grades 3–12 | 152 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 27 to 2 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 2 reported in 2025, 0.5 per 1,000 residents.
Zelienople’s violent offense rate stands at 0.5 per 1,000 residents, near the Pennsylvania town median (0.7) and below the median of U.S. towns (1.6).
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 10,340 U.S. towns with household incomes like Zelienople’s, it is healthier than 96%, so its A− isn’t only a matter of income. Its widest gap with Pennsylvania is tooth loss: 8.9% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 14.5% statewide.
For adults in Zelienople, the share who have been diagnosed with depression is 21%. Of 26 CDC measures, Zelienople beats the Pennsylvania average on 7 and trails it on 3.
| Zelienople | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 79% | 79% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 24% | 23% |
| What stands out | Zelienople | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.9% | 14.5% |
| Fewer smokers | 11.7% | 15.8% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.8% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Values fell 2.8% in the past year while the Pennsylvania typical home rose 2.2%. At about $400K, home values are up 6% in five years, against a rise of 23% across Pennsylvania.
Typical home values fell 2.8% in the year to September 2026. The share of households in Zelienople who own their home: 52%. The midpoint rent for Zelienople comes to $1,057 a month.
| Zelienople | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 52% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,057 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $565 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
Households in Zelienople have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2004. The town’s risk rating from FEMA is 68 of 100. Since 1989, Zelienople has seen 49 flood insurance claims paid out. 93% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In July, afternoons reach 84°; in January, nights fall to 20°, and about 35 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For Zelienople, the typical journey to work is 31 minutes. Most working residents leave Zelienople for work: only 9% work in town. Employers in Zelienople added 256 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 2,540. 6.3% of residents live below the poverty line here.
| Zelienople | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $68,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.3% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 13% | 12% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Zelienople. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
25 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
24 mi Stadium & arenaPNC Park
31 mi Theme parkKennywood
25 mi Stadium & arenaPPG Paints Arena
25 mi LandmarkFort PittAcrisure Stadium: Fo2grfr, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Duquesne: Sébastien Paquin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · PNC Park: alpineinc, CC BY 2.0 · Kennywood: Ski2007 of English Wikipedia, Public domain · PPG Paints Arena: Jleedev, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Pitt: Downtown_Pittsburgh_May_2008.jpg: Allie Caufield derivative work: GrapedApe (tal, CC BY 2.0
5 within 15 miles of the center of Zelienople
About 4 of every 100 Zelienople residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Borough in Pennsylvania, United States
Zelienople () is a borough in western Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,912 at the 2020 census. Located 28 miles (45 km) north of Pittsburgh, it is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Zelienople.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zelienople | #72 | A+ | C+ | A+ | A | A− |
| Jackson Township | #157 | A | C | A− | A | A− |
| Harmony | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Marion Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Harmony and Marion Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Zelienople with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Zelienople grades A+ overall, better than 97% of U.S. towns and #72 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades A− for health, A+ for safety and A for schools.
Yes, by national standards. Zelienople reports less crime per resident than 95% of U.S. towns, an A+ Safety Grade: 2 violent and 0 property crimes in 2025.
That is 5.3 years of the area's median household income ($75,762 across the Pittsburgh, PA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C+.
2 notable people were born here, including William Alfred Passavant and Frederick William Holls.
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