Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania skyline at sunset. Many of the richest cities in the world … [+]
In a recent study, we analyzed and identified the richest cities in New Jersey based on several key financial factors. This time we turn our attention to New Jersey’s neighbor to the west, Pennsylvania, the Keystone State.
We analyzed more than 17,00 cities across the state to identify the richest cities in Pennsylvania. How we evaluated and scored each city’s ranking is detailed below. Read on to find out which is the richest city in Pennsylvania, as well as the 50 richest cities in the state as a whole.
What are the richest cities in Pennsylvania?
In order to compile a list of the richest cities in Pennsylvania, we pulled data from the Census Bureau 2022 American Community Surveyand we’ve built a four-factor rating system to help identify the wealthiest cities in Pennsylvania:
- Median household income
- Average (average) household income
- Median home value
- Median property taxes paid
When it comes to census data, for some factors their numbers have upper bounds. For example, for median household income, the Census Bureau has an upper limit of “$250,000+.” For the median home value, the upper limit is “$2,000,000+”. Finally, for median property taxes paid, the upper limit is “$10,000+.” For these reasons, the average or average household income data set is essential because the Census Bureau has accurate numbers on it. These four metrics were scored, added, and then ranked based on the cities’ combined scores.
Below is a table detailing the 50 richest cities in Pennsylvania and their respective dollar figures for each measure:
The wealthiest city in Pennsylvania in our rankings is Sewickley Heights, a borough of just 276 households located in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. In Sewickley Heights, the median household income is $228,000, while their average household income of $381,964 is the highest in Pennsylvania. Sewickley Heights’ reported median home value is also the highest in our study, at $947,600, and median property taxes paid exceed $10,000 per year. It’s no surprise that it’s the richest city in Pennsylvania, according to United States data, the leading occupation by employment is management occupations, which make up 27.5% of the workforce, followed by health diagnosis and treatment practitioners and other technical occupations, which make up 16.8%. of the work force. The top three industries in Sewickley Heights are professional, scientific and technical services (17.9% of the workforce), manufacturing (16.8% of the workforce), and health care and social assistance (16.2% of the workforce).
The second richest city in Pennsylvania is Villanova, which is a suburb of Philadelphia and, unsurprisingly, home to Villanova University, one of the best colleges in pennsylvania. Villanova has 802 total households and a median household income above $250,000, the only city in our study to have this characteristic. Like Sewickley Heights, median property taxes paid per year exceed $10,000, while the median home value in Villanova is $780,200. Villanova’s average household income is the second highest in Pennsylvania, at $344,997, about $37,000 less than the average income in Sewickley Heights.
Fox Chapel, a borough of more than 1,700 households located in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, like No. 1 Sewickley Heights, is the third wealthiest city in Pennsylvania. Fox Chapel has the second highest median household income, at $247,930, and the third highest median household income, at $341,148. The reported median home value in Fox Chapel is $769,300, with the median property taxes paid per year being over $10,000. The borough’s employment distribution is similar to that of Sewickley Heights. According to United States data, Management occupations employ the highest percentage of the workforce, at 23.4%, followed by health diagnostic and treatment practitioners and other technical occupations, at 21.6%. When it comes to sectors that employ the most, Fox Chapel’s top ones are health care and social assistance (24.3% of the workforce), professional, scientific and technical services (15. 5% of the workforce) and manufacturing (9.6% of the workforce). Workforce).
The fourth wealthiest city in Pennsylvania is Merion Station, an unincorporated community in Lower Merion Township and part of the Philadelphia Main Line. Merion Station is slightly larger than Pennsylvania’s three richest cities, with 1,847 total households. With a median household income of $233,340, Merion Station has the third highest median income in Pennsylvania, while its median household income of $288,309 is the fifth highest. The median home value is $693,800, with median property taxes paid annually exceeding $10,000.
The fifth richest city in Pennsylvania is another Pittsburgh suburb: Edgeworth. Right next to Sewickley Heights, Edgeworth has a median household income of $190,000, which is the eighth highest in the study; however, its average household income of $307,396 is the fourth highest in Pennsylvania. Like Pennsylvania’s five wealthiest cities, Edgeworth’s median property taxes paid annually exceed $10,000, while its median home value is $628,000. Edgeworth’s economic landscape is similar to that of Fox Chapel and Sewickley Heights. According to United States datathe top industries in terms of employment are health care and social assistance (19.8% of the workforce), professional, scientific and technical services (17.8% of the workforce work) and educational services (11.1% of the workforce).
Among the 50 wealthiest cities in Pennsylvania, the largest is Franklin Park, which has 5,445 households and a population of more than 15,000. Franklin Park, like many of Pennsylvania’s wealthiest cities, is in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area in Union County. Franklin Park’s median household income is $142,850, while the average household income is $186,411.