Collingswood vs Drexel Hill

Which is the better fit for you?

Collingswood, NJ
63
Area Score
Top 35% nationally
Drexel Hill, PA
69
Area Score
Top 16% nationally

Want a third or fourth place beside these? Open them in the shortlist and add more.

Drexel Hill receives the higher standardized Area Score. That reflects AreaProfile's weighting, not a judgment about which place is better to live in.

If you are moving

What the difference in prices, rent, homes and weather comes to, using the published figures for the two places. Add your income to see what it would take to keep pace.

Moving from Collingswood to Drexel Hill

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Everyday prices
About the same
Regional price level 102.4 against 102.4 (US = 100). Both places sit in the same price region, so the index cannot tell them apart.
Income to keep the same purchasing power
Enter your household income to see it.
A new two-bedroom lease
−$420 a month
HUD benchmarks it at $1,630 in Drexel Hill against $2,050 in Collingswood.
The median home
30% less
$266,400 in Drexel Hill against $380,400 in Collingswood.
The weather you would swap
Similar winters
Normal January lows are 26°F in Drexel Hill against 26°F in Collingswood; July highs are 88°F against 88°F (summers the same).

These are differences between published figures, not a forecast of your budget. Income and sales taxes, commuting, schools, insurance and the job you would actually get are not in them, and a price index describes a metropolitan area, so two places in one metro read the same. HUD’s rent is a benchmark for a new lease, not a listing.

Signals

Collingswood
Drexel Hill
Opportunity: Drexel Hill is the more favorable of the two.
Opportunity
66 · Top 31%
vs
80 · Top 8%
Growth: Collingswood is the more favorable of the two.
Growth
32 · Bottom 17%
vs
30 · Bottom 15%
Climate
71 · Top 46%
vs
71 · Top 46%
Physical resilience: Drexel Hill is the more favorable of the two.
Physical resilience
77 · Top 28%
vs
91 · Top 10%
Housing affordability: Drexel Hill is the more favorable of the two.
Housing affordability
71 · Top 38%
vs
76 · Top 23%
Schools: Collingswood is the more favorable of the two.
Schools
41 · Bottom 39%
vs
39 · Bottom 36%
Access
100 · Top 4%
vs
100 · Top 4%
Economic stability: Drexel Hill is the more favorable of the two.
Economic stability
65 · Top 35%
vs
75 · Top 14%

Measured values

MetricCollingswoodDrexel HillSource period
Population14,20530,4512024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income — the two are too close to separate$90,184 ±$7,534$88,168 ±$3,9092024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income$57,608 — more favorable$46,2302024 ACS 5-Year
Population density7,762/sq mi9,522/sq mi2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value$380,400$266,4002024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent$1,488$1,357 — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, two bedroom$2,050$1,630 — more favorableFY2026
Cost of living index102.4102.42023
Homeownership rate57.0%63.4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment rate5.1%3.8% — more favorableJuly 2026
Employment change (year over year)+2.1%+2.7% — more favorableJuly 2026
Bachelor's degree or higher53.9% — more favorable46.0%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate9.8%6.1% — more favorable2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units permitted (12 months)018312 months ending July 2026
Permits per 1,000 residents0.00.3 — more favorable12 months ending July 2026
Permit change (year over year)−27.3%−25.3%12 months ending July 2026
Average July high88°F88°F1991-2020 Normals
Average January low26°F26°F1991-2020 Normals
Annual precipitation44.1"44.1"1991-2020 Normals
Distance to major airport9 mi6 mi — more favorableNASR current cycle
Average commute29.1 min — more favorable33.6 min2024 ACS 5-Year
Median age39.136.22024 ACS 5-Year
Students per teacher11.9 — more favorable14.32024-25 school year
Math proficiency37.1%41.4%2018-19 school year
Reading proficiency48.7%55.8%2018-19 school year

A bolded value is the more favorable of the two where the metric has a clear direction. Metrics like population and density have no inherent better or worse and are shown unweighted.

One row above shows both figures with a ± margin and neither in bold. Those come from the American Community Survey, which samples rather than counts, and the gap between the two is smaller than the uncertainty on the figures themselves — so the survey did not find a difference to report, and calling either one the winner would be reading a result out of noise.

The number of units permitted is not marked because the larger place always permits more; the per-resident rate is the fair comparison. The year-over-year change is not marked either: a percentage on fewer than 300 units swings on a handful of permits.

New Jersey and Pennsylvania do not give the same test. Each state writes its own assessment and sets its own passing score, so the two proficiency rows above are not directly comparable — the difference between them partly measures which standard is harder. Students per teacher and the school count are unaffected, and each profile ranks its own proficiency within its own state.

Your best match

Weight what matters to you. Your preferences stay in this browser and never change either Area Score.

Collingswood
—
Collingswood: Your Score
63
Area Score
Drexel Hill
—
Drexel Hill: Your Score
69
Area Score

Select your priorities to see which of the two fits them better.

Full profiles: Collingswood, NJ · Drexel Hill, PA · How this is calculated: methodology