Posted by: Adam McCann

Pennsylvania earned its nickname as the Keystone State for a good reason: it’s an economic, political and social powerhouse that is key to the growth of America. In other words, it has all the elements of a family-friendly state.

For one, Pennsylvania has the sixth-largest state economy by GDP, driven by 21 of the Fortune 500 companies and booming natural-resource industries for which the state also received its other popular names — the Coal State, Oil State and Steel State. Its unemployment rate of 4.7 percent — not too far from the nation’s 4.1 percent, as of December — should also pair well with the state’s strong housing market.

But if your children’s education is your top priority, you’ll be pleased to know they’ll be taught well. Pennsylvania students scored higher than the national average in both math and reading standardized tests, according to the latest figures from the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Besides its economic strength and quality schools, Pennsylvania offers plenty more for everyone: beautiful scenery, a rich history, all four seasons, and several major urban centers. Oh, and did we mention that Pennsylvania is the chocolate capital of America?

To find the best spots in the Keystone State for families to settle down, WalletHub compared more than 80 cities in the state across 21 key indicators of ideal family conditions. Our data set ranges from the share of families with young children to median family income to housing affordability. Read on for the results, additional insight from a panel of experts and a detailed description of our methodology.

1. Main Findings
2. Ask the Experts
3. Methodology

Main Findings

Embed on your website<iframe src="//d2e70e9yced57e.cloudfront.net/wallethub/embed/19252/geochart-pafamilies.html" width="556" height="347" frameBorder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <div style="width:556px;font-size:12px;color:#888;">Source: <a href="https://ift.tt/2v5hovX>  

Best Places to Live in Pennsylvania

Overall Rank (1=Best)	City	Total Score	‘Family Life & Fun’ Rank	‘Education, Health & Safety’ Rank	‘Affordability’ Rank	‘Socio-economics’ Rank
1	Franklin Park, PA	76.55	29	3	1	1
2	Upper St. Clair, PA	68.84	60	14	2	5
3	Carnot-Moon, PA	66.56	50	6	9	27
4	Montgomeryville, PA	65.82	40	8	22	2
5	Bethel Park, PA	64.94	85	7	8	9
6	Jefferson Hills, PA	64.94	82	4	4	6
7	Baldwin, PA	64.51	65	9	14	19
8	St. Marys, PA	64.50	58	32	13	16
9	Mountain Top, PA	61.92	63	11	23	8
10	Ephrata, PA	61.70	7	16	68	13
11	Indiana, PA	61.49	31	1	29	52
12	Murrysville, PA	61.41	87	22	11	11
13	Plum, PA	61.21	79	63	7	4
14	Hershey, PA	61.02	20	2	49	21
15	Allison Park, PA	60.51	71	54	6	17
16	Horsham, PA	60.21	66	12	28	18
17	South Park Township, PA	59.40	80	50	5	10
18	Hermitage, PA	59.04	70	43	16	15
19	Wyomissing, PA	59.03	56	37	18	24
20	Altoona, PA	58.94	21	20	34	40
21	Lower Burrell, PA	58.76	78	33	17	14
22	Shiloh, PA	58.63	76	51	25	7
23	State College, PA	58.59	12	5	71	35
24	Carlisle, PA	58.59	4	15	63	38
25	Elizabethtown, PA	58.41	46	21	51	23
26	Whitehall, PA	57.95	81	19	15	30
27	Emmaus, PA	57.39	42	10	64	21
28	Monroeville, PA	57.39	83	45	12	26
29	Weigelstown, PA	56.15	53	28	43	20
30	Kingston, PA	55.91	44	18	26	50
31	Meadville, PA	55.66	14	26	39	62
32	West Mifflin, PA	55.38	84	34	10	45
33	Phoenixville, PA	55.28	41	31	38	37
34	Pottsville, PA	55.12	52	38	20	55
35	Lansdale, PA	55.11	25	27	59	33
36	Oil City, PA	55.08	37	13	27	61
37	King of Prussia, PA	54.31	49	59	41	12
38	Munhall, PA	54.30	75	81	3	31
39	Colonial Park, PA	53.60	15	55	61	28
40	Berwick, PA	53.22	55	24	53	36
41	Broomall, PA	53.04	73	30	67	3
42	Erie, PA	52.67	17	46	44	60
43	West Chester, PA	52.13	28	44	50	43
44	Waynesboro, PA	51.81	27	23	72	41
45	Ardmore, PA	51.70	36	61	30	46
46	Williamsport, PA	51.32	9	39	57	66
47	Greensburg, PA	50.56	26	47	32	67
48	Pittsburgh, PA	50.54	16	78	21	64
49	Bloomsburg, PA	50.11	11	35	60	58
50	Dunmore, PA	49.97	77	29	47	29
51	Willow Grove, PA	49.87	61	53	46	34
52	Sharon, PA	49.81	24	56	31	70
53	Hanover, PA	49.81	57	42	54	48
54	Levittown, PA	49.74	69	58	45	25
55	Scranton, PA	49.48	51	41	56	44
56	New Castle, PA	49.22	38	40	42	71
57	Lebanon, PA	49.06	18	36	62	73
58	Nanticoke, PA	48.22	67	25	55	57
59	Drexel Hill, PA	47.98	54	80	37	39
60	Easton, PA	47.80	43	49	65	53
61	Fullerton, PA	47.57	19	71	74	32
62	Columbia, PA	47.46	34	48	66	63
63	Chambersburg, PA	47.32	13	62	75	54
64	Butler, PA	46.35	35	60	36	74
65	Johnstown, PA	46.17	47	52	40	78
66	Lansdowne, PA	45.52	62	67	52	49
67	Bethlehem, PA	45.46	32	65	77	47
68	Pottstown, PA	45.35	48	72	48	42
69	Lancaster, PA	44.66	1	70	81	68
70	New Kensington, PA	44.46	86	83	19	51
71	Hazleton, PA	43.51	30	57	70	75
72	Washington, PA	42.83	64	75	33	65
73	East Stroudsburg, PA	42.21	74	17	79	59
74	Norristown, PA	41.81	22	66	76	76
75	Allentown, PA	40.46	10	68	86	69
76	Yeadon, PA	40.43	33	77	73	56
77	Wilkes-Barre, PA	40.35	45	79	58	72
78	Harrisburg, PA	39.78	3	73	85	80
79	McKeesport, PA	39.64	68	69	24	85
80	Coatesville, PA	39.58	6	76	69	83
81	York, PA	39.02	2	82	78	82
82	Reading, PA	36.99	5	74	80	84
83	Uniontown, PA	36.49	59	64	84	77
84	Wilkinsburg, PA	35.21	72	85	35	81
85	Philadelphia, PA	30.96	23	84	87	79
86	Chester, PA	28.75	39	86	82	86
87	Darby, PA	26.55	8	87	83	87

Ask the Experts

Families share a number of common priorities when choosing a new place to call home. With that in mind, we asked a panel of experts in fields such as family studies and public health to share their insight on the process of evaluating Pennsylvania cities as potential hometowns. Click on the experts’ profiles below to read their bios and their thoughts on the following key questions:

1. What are some tips for young families looking for quality public schools and affordable housing in Pennsylvania?
2. How can local officials in Pennsylvania make their cities more attractive to young families?
3. Looking just within Pennsylvania, to what degree is child development and a family’s quality of life influenced by the city in which they live?

< >

• Sue Ellen Henry Professor of Education and Director of the Teaching and Learning Center at Bucknell University
• Christina J Groark Director of the Office of Child Development and Associate Professor of Psychology in Education at the University of Pittsburgh
• Christopher Meidl Assistant Professor of Early Level Education in the Department of Instruction and Leadership in Education at Duquesne University

Sue Ellen Henry Professor of Education and Director of the Teaching and Learning Center at Bucknell University

What are some tips for young families looking for quality public schools and affordable housing in Pennsylvania?

Young families would do well to investigate the school taxes in areas where they are looking to live, and the rent/own ratio of towns of interest. These metrics offer some insight into the funding streams that provide revenue for the school per-pupil spending rate, which is another metric to explore. This offers a consistent figure to compare across a variety of localities -- in general, the higher the per-pupil spending rate, the stronger support for education from the community.

How can local officials in Pennsylvania make their cities more attractive to young families?

Municipalities should invest in infrastructure that prioritizes families: recreation and educational outlets are key. Rail trails, neighborhoods with sidewalks, bike racks and parking areas for strollers, well-maintained parks, fields for informal and organized team sports are some examples of recreational opportunities. Libraries, children's museums, nature school outlets, a recreation authority that offers courses for a variety of age groups, and camps to support families during school breaks and summers are examples of educational opportunities that make communities attractive to young families.

Looking just within Pennsylvania, to what degree is child development and a family’s quality of life influenced by the city they live in?

Cities can make reducing poverty a priority, and when they do, they prioritize families and children. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, nearly 40% of Pennsylvania's children were low-income in 2015. Municipalities that prioritize jobs, living wages, access to affordable, safe housing, and a sustainable environmental plan avoiding pollution and hazards, help families to be economically stable, which is the most significant influence on appropriate physical, mental, and emotional development in children. Municipalities that are not able to prioritize these elements of community life have a considerably harder time establishing quality-of-life features.

Christina J Groark Director of the Office of Child Development and Associate Professor of Psychology in Education at the University of Pittsburgh

What are some tips for young families looking for quality public schools and affordable housing in Pennsylvania?

School district rankings, like those of USNews.com, are prominent and offer a quick way to compare districts, but they don't tell the whole story, and obviously, the highest ranked districts may not have many options for affordable housing. Decide what specific aspects of a school and an education are important to your family and then dig deeper to compare those elements across districts -- school size, availability of extracurricular opportunities, student diversity, and teacher retention are good examples of characteristics that can vary widely across schools. It's also a good idea to talk with other parents and to visit the schools to get a feel of the environment. You can tell a lot about a school just by walking down the hall during a busy school day and talking with an administrator.

How can local officials in Pennsylvania make their cities more attractive to young families?

Local officials can make their cities more attractive to young families by putting education, including high-quality child care, and maternal and child health care on top of their funding and political agenda. In addition, recreational opportunities are important, such as having public green spaces and parks, children’s museums, family festivals, and other community events for families to “play together.” Additional resources need to be allocated and targeted to the more rural areas of the Commonwealth, where families have many less services, if officials want to attract young families to those regions.

Looking just within Pennsylvania, to what degree is child development and a family’s quality of life influenced by the city they live in?

I believe that the three more heavily populated cities in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Erie) offer a host of resources (maybe not enough, and often not integrated or coordinated with each other) -- social services, financial assistance, educational programs, child care, mental health and addiction therapies, and access to leading health care institutions -- thus providing a higher quality of life for their families. However, rural communities, which is the majority of the state, do not have access to the same number or to the same quality of such services, often due to service eligibility based on residence, or lack of transportation and the long distances to get to the services. This lack of access may cause rural families to struggle through their children’s developmental and health needs in isolation, or to spend an exorbitant amount of resources, including time, money, loss of wages, etc., on challenges that may seem routine to families living in urban areas.

Christopher Meidl Assistant Professor of Early Level Education in the Department of Instruction and Leadership in Education at Duquesne University

What are some tips for young families looking for quality public schools and affordable housing in Pennsylvania?

The quick and easy answer is in suburban and urban areas like Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, the quality of the schools typically aligns with the socioeconomics of the community. Higher-costing housing usually equates to better schools based on the cost of spending per student and higher test scores. The question is, do those things necessarily make for better-quality education?

With that being said, families should drive through communities and visit the schools. They should ask if they can visit, and maybe even sit in and have their child participate in classroom learning. There are a lot of quality schools and teachers in Pennsylvania; schools and teachers have their own unique personalities and character traits. Sometimes, society forgets that having a good match is important when pairing children with teachers and schools. So, ask to visit and talk to their potential teacher. Have your child talk to the other students. Some schools will let potential students sit in for a day or two. But keep in mind that there are a lot of quality schools in many different areas that help develop character, ethics, and social responsibility in children, as well as academics. If you use median income and test scores as your marks of quality, you might miss progressive learning environments, civic minded-learning and social justice, as well as areas that have more racial, cultural, and ethnic diversity.

How can local officials in Pennsylvania make their cities more attractive to young families?

First off, they need to stop assuming that high test scores are important to most parents. Many parents and families are looking for schools that will care for their children and help them build character. Recognizing that diversity (race, culture, abilities/disabilities, and LGBTQIA) is much more important than in years past. Parents want to know that their children’s education in authentic, engaging, and empowering. And of course, having statistics about how many students are in colleges/universities, vocational schools, and work force placements is equally important.

Young families need communities where there are events that don’t cost a lot, outdoor play spaces, and cultural interactions where their children can learn about others. Getting business sponsors to support family events and connecting with various community organizations where subgroups of the community might gather (churches, youth groups, advocacy groups, civic groups, recreational groups, etc.) will allow local leaders to get a better pulse of what is going well, and what constituents want more of.

Looking just within Pennsylvania, to what degree is child development and a family’s quality of life influenced by the city they live in?

Cities that truly value child development and family interaction make an effort to make that happen. Across Pennsylvania, some communities continually make this a priority and others don’t. Some are within range of places where that can happen, like the family sponsored days at the museums in Pittsburgh. There is a collective effort to support those events. The history of child development has still left some communities preferring children to be seen while not heard, and other communities embrace the natural playfulness of childhood and attempt to alleviate stressors from some form of marginalization with programs that support children, like summer lunches or youth outreach programs. Areas with greater educational outlets (universities/colleges, museums, cultural events, festivals, etc.) allow for children to be exposed to a lot of different ideas and people. Traditions and close communities allow children for deeper levels of security and belonging to a community. Families and parents have to decide what is important to them, because there is quality living throughout Pennsylvania, but it is about knowing what one wants from a community and also understanding what one might not get.

Methodology

To help families find the most family-friendly cities in Pennsylvania, WalletHub compared 87 cities across four key dimensions: 1) Family Life & Fun, 2) Education, Health & Safety, 3) Affordability and 4) Socioeconomic Environment. In all cases, “city” means city proper and excludes the surrounding metro areas.

First, we compiled 21 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was given a value between 0 and 100, with a score of 100 representing the best for families.

We then determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its total score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Family Life & Fun – Total Points: 25

• Playgrounds per Capita: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
• Number of Attractions (e.g., zoos, museums, theaters): Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
• Share of Families with Children Under 18: Double Weight (~8.33 Points)
• WalletHub “Weather” Ranking: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)
• Average Commute Time: Full Weight (~4.17 Points)

Education, Health & Safety – Total Points: 25

• Quality of School System: Full Weight (~2.94 Points)
• High School Graduation Rate: Half Weight (~1.47 Points)
• Air Quality: Full Weight (~2.94 Points)
• Pediatricians per Capita: Full Weight (~2.94 Points)
• Share of Uninsured Children: Full Weight (~2.94 Points)
• Violent-Crime Rate: Double Weight (~5.88 Points)
• Property-Crime Rate: Double Weight (~5.88 Points)

Affordability – Total Points: 25

• Housing Affordability: Full Weight (~12.5 Points)
• General Affordability: Full Weight (~12.5 Points)Note: This metric is calculated from the median family annual income divided by the cost of living index.

Socio-economics – Total Points: 25

• Separation & Divorce Rate: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
• Share of Two-Parent Families: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
• Share of Families Below Poverty Line: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
• Share of Households Receiving Food Stamps: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
• Unemployment Rate: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
• Wealth Gap: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)
• Foreclosure Rate: Full Weight (~3.57 Points)

 

Sources: Data used to create these rankings were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Renwood RealtyTrac, SchoolDigger.com, Yelp, TripAdvisor and WalletHub research.

from Wallet HubWallet Hub


via Finance Xpress