Johnstown, PA

Metro Area Profile

131,538 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Johnstown, PA metropolitan area.

63out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 45% of 379 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity288th of 379 metros measured43
Growth750th of 821 metros measured19
Housing affordabilityTop 27% of 822 metros measured100
Climate507th of 822 metros measured62
Physical resilienceTop 1% of 822 metros measured96
Access426th of 822 metros measured75
Economic stability628th of 822 metros measured33
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 4.7% and the Opportunity signal places Johnstown in the bottom 24%.

59 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 3% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published metro profiles, placing Johnstown in the top 1% for physical resilience.

At a glance

Population
131,538
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$58,418
Bottom 23% nationally
Density
191/sq mi
688.0 sq mi of land
Median age
45.6
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Johnstown, PA
Nearest major airport
LBE
40 mi · Arnold Palmer Rgnl
Median home value
$121,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.7% is lower than 31% of the 379 measured US metros.

Employment grew 2.4% over the past year, to 53,730 employed residents.

Median household income of $58,418 is below 77% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,532$58,418Bottom 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,276$34,692Bottom 44%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate14.2%Top 44%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute24.6 minTop 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher23.9%Bottom 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Employment53,730Bottom 15%of 379June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-1.8%Bottom 22%of 379June 2026
Employment change (year over year)2.4%Top 5%of 379June 2026
Labor force56,383Bottom 15%of 379June 2026
Labor force participation54.3%Bottom 16%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$53,460Bottom 10%of 3812025 OEWS
Median annual wage$44,110Bottom 14%of 3812025 OEWS
Metro employment47,810Bottom 13%of 3812025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.8%Bottom 7%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate4.7%Top 31%of 379June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/067.53.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.7% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Largest occupations — Johnstown, PA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides1,740$28,930
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,380$24,750
Retail Salespersons1,370$27,960
Cashiers1,210$27,430
Registered Nurses1,190$84,390
General and Operations Managers1,150$86,370

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $739 takes 15% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 2.1 times median household income here, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
15.2%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.1×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$739
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$121,000
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income2.07Bottom 4%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate76.4%Top 14%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±9164,456Top 33%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$19$739Bottom 4%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$2,848$121,000Bottom 6%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income15.2%Bottom 10%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate13.2%Top 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
19/ 100
Ranks 750 of 821 published city profiles
Permitting is decreasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 2% since 2020, reaching 130,108 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
59
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.4
Bottom 7% nationally
Year over year
−3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024133k130k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 79°F and January a low of 19°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 41.3 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station JOHNSTOWN CAMBRIA CO AP, 14.9 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation41.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low19°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high79°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing44°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

96 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane.

HurricaneModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, lightning, landslide, winter weather, strong wind, hail, cold wave, tornado, earthquake, avalanche, wildfire, ice storm, heat wave.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 40 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Arnold Palmer RgnlLBE40 mi8,222 ft
Pittsburgh IntlPIT80 mi11,500 ft
Harrisburg IntlMDT105 mi10,001 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
63
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Put Johnstown side by side with a similar place.

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

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