The Town Files

The 25 Best College Small Towns in Pennsylvania

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

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Numbers match the ranking.
The 25 Best College Small Towns in Pennsylvania1. Gettysburg100th pct2. Swarthmore100th pct3. Clarion100th pct4. East Greenville100th pct5. Kutztown University100th pct6. Messiah College100th pct7. Penndel100th pct8. Villanova99th pct9. Turtle Creek99th pct10. Collegeville99th pct11. Edinboro99th pct12. Annville99th pct13. Lemoyne99th pct14. Grantley99th pct15. Forty Fort99th pct16. St. Davids99th pct17. Etna99th pct18. Slippery Rock99th pct19. New Britain99th pct20. Kulpmont99th pct21. Canonsburg98th pct22. Grove City98th pct23. Huntingdon98th pct24. Ambler98th pct25. Prospect Park98th pct
  1. 25Prospect Park, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 98% of Pennsylvania towns

    6,427 people · Delaware County · median home $244,600 · income $63,077 · Jan low 26°F · 23 in snow

  2. 24Ambler, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 98% of Pennsylvania towns

    6,807 people · Montgomery County · median home $377,300 · income $77,394 · Jan low 23°F · 25 in snow

  3. 23Huntingdon, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 98% of Pennsylvania towns

    6,827 people · Huntingdon County · median home $198,900 · income $67,125 · Jan low 21°F · 31 in snow

  4. 22Grove City, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 98% of Pennsylvania towns

    7,871 people · Mercer County · median home $171,600 · income $57,169 · Jan low 17°F · 37 in snow

  5. 21Canonsburg, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 98% of Pennsylvania towns

    9,744 people · Washington County · median home $213,200 · income $79,227 · Jan low 20°F · 32 in snow

  6. 20Kulpmont, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    2,758 people · Northumberland County · median home $84,000 · income $49,785 · Jan low 19°F · 34 in snow

  7. 19New Britain, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    2,836 people · Bucks County · median home $407,000 · income $125,227 · Jan low 23°F · 22 in snow

  8. 18Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    3,081 people · Butler County · median home $255,400 · income $52,262 · Jan low 17°F · 31 in snow

  9. 17Etna, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    3,437 people · Allegheny County · median home $135,800 · income $53,654 · Jan low 21°F · 29 in snow

  10. 16St. Davids, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    3,604 people · Delaware County · median home $1,001,600 · income $163,173 · Jan low 23°F · 8 in snow

  11. 15Forty Fort, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    4,239 people · Luzerne County · median home $173,000 · income $74,432 · Jan low 20°F · 45 in snow

  12. 14Grantley, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    4,524 people · York County · median home $429,400 · income $167,069 · Jan low 21°F · 25 in snow

  13. 13Lemoyne, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    4,659 people · Cumberland County · median home $241,300 · income $62,086 · Jan low 22°F · 24 in snow

  14. 12Annville, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    4,759 people · Lebanon County · median home $199,200 · income $71,321 · Jan low 22°F · 24 in snow

  15. 11Edinboro, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    4,964 people · Erie County · median home $222,700 · income $48,173 · Jan low 16°F · 104 in snow

  16. 10Collegeville, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    5,043 people · Montgomery County · median home $443,000 · income $91,466 · Jan low 20°F · 13 in snow

  17. 9Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    5,114 people · Allegheny County · median home $84,900 · income $45,997 · Jan low 22°F · 25 in snow

  18. 8Villanova, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 99% of Pennsylvania towns

    8,213 people · Delaware County · median home $946,400 · income $250,001 · Jan low 23°F · 8 in snow

  19. 7Penndel, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 100% of Pennsylvania towns

    2,515 people · Bucks County · median home $336,200 · income $75,517 · Jan low 22°F · 20 in snow

  20. 6Messiah College, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 100% of Pennsylvania towns

    2,841 people · Cumberland County · median home — · income — · Jan low 25°F · 26 in snow

  21. 5Kutztown University, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 100% of Pennsylvania towns

    3,094 people · Berks County · median home — · income $18,676 · Jan low 20°F · 18 in snow

  22. 4East Greenville, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 100% of Pennsylvania towns

    3,166 people · Montgomery County · median home $253,400 · income $87,396 · Jan low 19°F · 26 in snow

  23. 3Clarion, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 100% of Pennsylvania towns

    3,931 people · Clarion County · median home $163,200 · income $47,181 · Jan low 16°F · 43 in snow

  24. 2Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 100% of Pennsylvania towns

    6,543 people · Delaware County · median home $633,800 · income $152,361 · Jan low 26°F · 23 in snow

  25. 1Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

    More of a college town than 100% of Pennsylvania towns

    7,106 people · Adams County · median home $241,500 · income $54,365 · Jan low 21°F · 27 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: