The Town Files

The 25 Best Small Towns to Retire in Pennsylvania

Ranked on The Town Files lifestyle rankings among 931 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Pennsylvania. #1 is Cornwall, PA.

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Numbers match the ranking.
The 25 Best Small Towns to Retire in Pennsylvania1. Cornwall100th pct2. Mahoning100th pct3. Pennsbury100th pct4. Toftrees100th pct5. Lima100th pct6. Cumberland99th pct7. Penn99th pct8. Hollidaysburg99th pct9. Carroll99th pct10. Middle Paxton99th pct11. Green Tree99th pct12. Pocopson99th pct13. Edgmont99th pct14. Malvern99th pct15. Wharton99th pct16. Mansfield99th pct17. Harveys Lake99th pct18. New Hope99th pct19. Delmont99th pct20. Honey Brook98th pct21. Kingston98th pct22. Springfield98th pct23. Upper Yoder98th pct24. Tinicum98th pct25. Buffalo98th pct
  1. 25Buffalo, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 98% of Pennsylvania towns

    3,593 people · Union County · median home $223,200 · income $66,781 · Jan low 19°F · 29 in snow

  2. 24Tinicum, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 98% of Pennsylvania towns

    3,818 people · Bucks County · median home $613,600 · income $122,125 · Jan low 19°F · 27 in snow

  3. 23Upper Yoder, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 98% of Pennsylvania towns

    5,147 people · Cambria County · median home $152,800 · income $66,974 · Jan low 19°F · 92 in snow

  4. 22Springfield, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 98% of Pennsylvania towns

    5,175 people · Bucks County · median home $430,700 · income $122,538 · Jan low 19°F · 41 in snow

  5. 21Kingston, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 98% of Pennsylvania towns

    7,108 people · Luzerne County · median home $249,300 · income $76,574 · Jan low 20°F · 43 in snow

  6. 20Honey Brook, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 98% of Pennsylvania towns

    8,274 people · Chester County · median home $358,100 · income $86,212 · Jan low 23°F · 23 in snow

  7. 19Delmont, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    2,596 people · Westmoreland County · median home $261,400 · income $56,806 · Jan low 20°F · 29 in snow

  8. 18New Hope, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    2,612 people · Bucks County · median home $716,200 · income $175,156 · Jan low 19°F · 13 in snow

  9. 17Harveys Lake, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    2,788 people · Luzerne County · median home $238,600 · income $75,510 · Jan low 20°F · 41 in snow

  10. 16Mansfield, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    2,839 people · Tioga County · median home $191,600 · income $47,685 · Jan low 15°F · 54 in snow

  11. 15Wharton, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    3,355 people · Fayette County · median home $225,200 · income $71,667 · Jan low 15°F · 89 in snow

  12. 14Malvern, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    3,419 people · Chester County · median home $521,800 · income $117,548 · Jan low 23°F · 31 in snow

  13. 13Edgmont, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    4,283 people · Delaware County · median home $614,200 · income $136,964 · Jan low 27°F · 31 in snow

  14. 12Pocopson, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    4,455 people · Chester County · median home $689,800 · income $230,000 · Jan low 20°F · 31 in snow

  15. 11Green Tree, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    4,941 people · Allegheny County · median home $251,900 · income $92,422 · Jan low 21°F · 33 in snow

  16. 10Middle Paxton, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    5,048 people · Dauphin County · median home $262,700 · income $80,391 · Jan low 22°F · 24 in snow

  17. 9Carroll, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    5,380 people · Washington County · median home $189,300 · income $79,219 · Jan low 21°F · 10 in snow

  18. 8Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    5,641 people · Blair County · median home $196,100 · income $69,458 · Jan low 20°F · 38 in snow

  19. 7Penn, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    5,644 people · Chester County · median home $498,600 · income $136,250 · Jan low 23°F · 18 in snow

  20. 6Cumberland, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    7,033 people · Adams County · median home $293,200 · income $83,021 · Jan low 21°F · 27 in snow

  21. 5Lima, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 100% of Pennsylvania towns

    2,745 people · Delaware County · median home $396,300 · income $76,932 · Jan low 27°F · 19 in snow

  22. 4Toftrees, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 100% of Pennsylvania towns

    3,513 people · Centre County · median home $434,100 · income $73,721 · Jan low 21°F · 44 in snow

  23. 3Pennsbury, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 100% of Pennsylvania towns

    3,876 people · Chester County · median home $671,600 · income $167,727 · Jan low 20°F · 31 in snow

  24. 2Mahoning, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 100% of Pennsylvania towns

    4,559 people · Montour County · median home $400,900 · income $86,008 · Jan low 19°F · 29 in snow

  25. 1Cornwall, Pennsylvania

    Better for retirees than 100% of Pennsylvania towns

    4,604 people · Lebanon County · median home $333,700 · income $107,583 · Jan low 22°F · 24 in snow

Price vs ranking

Median home value vs ranking, Pennsylvania towns0255075100$45K$201K$356K$512K$667KMedian home valuePercentile
Orange squares are the 25 towns on this list; green dots are other towns on The Town Files in Pennsylvania.

More Pennsylvania rankings

Same ranking, other places

Methodology. We ranked 931 towns of 2,500–10,000 people in Pennsylvania (2020 Census population; towns with 2,500+ people have pages so far). Lifestyle measures are The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025), shown as percentiles. Only towns better than 60% of their peers on this measure qualify, so lists can be shorter than 25. Sources: