Pottsville, PA

Micro Area Profile

143,558 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Pottsville, PA micropolitan area.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 46% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
OpportunityTop 47% of 835 metro and micro areas measured52
Schools590th of 695 metro and micro areas measured22
GrowthTop 49% of 834 metro and micro areas measured51
Housing affordabilityTop 17% of 835 metro and micro areas measured81
ClimateTop 42% of 835 metro and micro areas measured69
Physical resilienceTop 38% of 835 metro and micro areas measured64
Access512th of 835 metro and micro areas measured72
Economic stability532nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured37
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.7% and median household income $68,313, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.

In the public schools here, 40% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.7 students for every teacher.

Housing is more affordable relative to local incomes than in most metro and micro areas measured: rent takes 27% of renter income and the median home is 1.9 times what its owners earn.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
143,558
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$68,313
Top 45% nationally
Density
184/sq mi
778.6 sq mi of land
Median age
43.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Pennsylvania
Nearest major airport
MDT
45 mi · Harrisburg Intl
Median home value
$153,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.7% — higher than in all but 31% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment grew 2.0% over the past year, to 64,721 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,3872024 ACS 5-Year$68,313Top 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$8612024 ACS 5-Year$34,954Bottom 46%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year12.5%Top 48%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year29.0 minBottom 11%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year19.9%Bottom 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year77.8%53rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202664,721Top 36%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+1.4%Top 31%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+2.0%Top 10%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202667,90363rd percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year74.6%Bottom 37%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%50th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.7%Top 20%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20264.7%Bottom 31%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year7.3%35th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/076.93.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.7% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. 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.

40% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 59% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.7 students for every full-time teacher across 33 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
35
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.7
across 33 of them
Math proficiency
39.9%
Bottom 5% in Pennsylvania
Reading proficiency
58.9%
Bottom 15% in Pennsylvania
The 12 largest of 35 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
North Schuylkill El SchNorth Schuylkill SD1,06414.031%55%
North Schuylkill JSHSNorth Schuylkill SD1,00316.237%58%
Pottsville Area HSPottsville Area SD97617.457%67%
McAdoo-Kelayres El/MSHazleton Area SD90016.114%41%
Clarke El CtrPottsville Area SD89213.148%63%
Blue Mountain HSBlue Mountain SD79112.062%77%
Shenandoah Valley El SchShenandoah Valley SD72612.536%48%
Lengel MSPottsville Area SD72013.636%52%
Tamaqua El SchTamaqua Area SD69716.634%63%
Tamaqua Area SHSTamaqua Area SD61313.962%67%
Blue Mountain El East SchoolBlue Mountain SD60912.753%69%
Mahanoy Area El SchMahanoy Area SD58912.022%45%

63.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Pennsylvania’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,140 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.40% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,030, some 18% above the $876 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,030 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $41,200 a year, about 60% of the median household income here of $68,313.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $876 a month.

A median home at $153,000 costs 1.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $78,551, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
26.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,030
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$876
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$153,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Pottsville’s median household income of $68,313, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year1.9Top 10%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year76.1%84th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1282024 ACS 5-Year67,29569th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$786Top 26%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,341Top 36%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,030Top 35%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$242024 ACS 5-Year$876Top 29%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$3,4732024 ACS 5-Year$153,00016th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$672024 ACS 5-Year$2,14055th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$1,8912024 ACS 5-Year$78,551Bottom 42%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.05%2024 ACS 5-Year1.40%82nd percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year26.5%Top 20%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2242024 ACS 5-Year98550th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.5%41st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year12.4%87th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±6882024 ACS 5-Year9,30773rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

51/ 100
Top 49% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running 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 grown 1% since 2020, reaching 144,523 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 144,523 residents in 2024, up 0.4% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

At 1.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
214
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.5
Bottom 28% nationally
Year over year
+20%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
32.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024145k143k
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. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 87°F and January a low of 23°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 45.2 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station READING SPAATZ FLD, 26.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.9"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals45.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals23°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals87°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

64 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and hurricane, with inland flooding alone responsible for 74% of it. Cold wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Inland floodingModerate
LandslideModerate
HurricaneModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, strong wind, lightning, cold wave, heat wave, earthquake, tornado, ice storm, wildfire, avalanche, hail, drought, volcanic activity, tsunami, coastal flooding.

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

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Harrisburg Intl at 45 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1.0%2024 ACS 5-Year86.7%Bottom 31%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle45 miBottom 43%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 16%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year11.5%Bottom 20%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Harrisburg IntlMDT45 mi10,001 ft
Philadelphia IntlPHL77 mi12,000 ft
Elmira/Corning RgnlELM106 mi8,001 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
56
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 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 every source with how often each updates.

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