St. Marys, PA
Micro Area Profile
30,506 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the St. Marys, PA micropolitan area.
How this area ranks
Data updated · 9 sourcesUnemployment is 3.7% and median household income $66,380, putting employment conditions in the middle range of metro and micro areas measured.
Public schools test above most of the state: 56% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 12% of published profiles for schools.
Residential permitting has slowed: 38 units authorized over the past twelve months, 19% below the prior year.
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
Jobs & opportunity
Unemployment of 3.7%, lower than in 69% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.
Employment grew 1.4% over the past year, to 14,124 employed residents.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income ±$3,3522024 ACS 5-Year | $66,380 | Bottom 49%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Per capita income ±$1,6502024 ACS 5-Year | $36,391 | Top 45%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 8.4% | Top 9%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year | 19.6 min | Top 11%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 20.6% | Bottom 28%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 84.8% | 96th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| EmploymentJuly 2026 | 14,124 | Bottom 11%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (3 years)July 2026 | −3.7% | Bottom 14%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Employment change (year over year)July 2026 | +1.4% | Top 13%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Labor forceJuly 2026 | 14,674 | 11th percentileof 835 | July 2026 |
| Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 79.9% | Top 27%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 0.4% | 54th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026 | −1.5% | Top 3%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Unemployment rateJuly 2026 | 3.7% | Top 31%of 835 | July 2026 |
| Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 3.1% | 2nd percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
Unemployment rate
56% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 70% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.
There are 13.7 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.
| School | District | Students | Per teacher | Math | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South St Marys Street El Sch | Saint Marys Area SD | 583 | 16.2 | 52% | 62% |
| St Marys Area SHS | Saint Marys Area SD | 572 | 14.3 | 72% | 77% |
| St Marys Area MS | Saint Marys Area SD | 459 | 15.8 | 36% | 66% |
| Francis S Grandinetti El Sch | Ridgway Area SD | 359 | 12.8 | 57% | 67% |
| Johnsonburg Area El Sch | Johnsonburg Area SD | 272 | 11.3 | 42% | 67% |
| Johnsonburg Area HS | Johnsonburg Area SD | 241 | 10.5 | 47% | 72% |
| Fox Twp El Sch | Saint Marys Area SD | 231 | 12.8 | 67% | 67% |
| Ridgway Area HS | Ridgway Area SD | 224 | 12.4 | 77% | 82% |
| Ridgway Area MS | Ridgway Area SD | 198 | 15.2 | 57% | 72% |
78.7% 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.
Housing & affordability
How it’s calculated — housing affordability →Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,697 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.27% of the median home value.
HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $973, some 35% above the $719 tenants already here pay.
At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $973 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,900 a year, about 59% of the median household income here of $66,380.
The typical renter household here spends 28% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $719 a month.
A median home at $133,600 costs 1.8 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $75,675, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.
The figures above are measured against St. Marys’s median household income of $66,380, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year | 1.8 | Top 4%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year | 79.5% | 95th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Housing units ±322024 ACS 5-Year | 16,880 | 18th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Market rent, one bedroomFY2026 | $825 | Top 36%of 818 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, three bedroomFY2026 | $1,283 | Top 26%of 818 | FY2026 |
| Market rent, two bedroomFY2026 | $973 | Top 21%of 818 | FY2026 |
| Median gross rent ±$662024 ACS 5-Year | $719 | Top 3%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median home value ±$7,1192024 ACS 5-Year | $133,600 | 10th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Median property taxes ±$602024 ACS 5-Year | $1,697 | 40th percentileof 933 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Owner household income ±$4,8072024 ACS 5-Year | $75,675 | Bottom 35%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Property tax rate ±0.08%2024 ACS 5-Year | 1.27% | 77th percentileof 932 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year | 27.9% | Top 35%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Seasonal and second homes ±1892024 ACS 5-Year | 2,316 | 68th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year | 13.7% | 92nd percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year | 7.3% | 45th percentileof 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Vacant housing units ±3152024 ACS 5-Year | 3,555 | 39th percentileof 935 | 2024 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.
Growth & development
How it’s calculated — growth →Development Momentum
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 3% since 2020, to 30,124 in 2024.
New construction is predominantly single-family: of 38 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.
At 1.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.
Population, annual estimates
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 17°F.
Normal annual precipitation is 42.4 inches.
Precipitation
| Metric | Value | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals | 42.4" | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average January low1991-2020 Normals | 17°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Average July high1991-2020 Normals | 79°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals | 5 | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals | 45°F | 1991-2020 Normals |
Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.
Physical risk
The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, lightning and cold wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 85% of it. Lightning and cold wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.
Low or minimal exposure: lightning, landslide, winter weather, avalanche, cold wave, earthquake, tornado, ice storm, heat wave, hail, wildfire, drought, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.
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 Arnold Palmer Rgnl at 89 miles.
| Metric | Value | Compared nationally | Source period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 87.7% | Bottom 42%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Distance to major airportNASR current cycle | 89 mi | Bottom 7%of 835 | NASR current cycle |
| Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle | 2 | Bottom 16%of 835 | NASR current cycle |
| No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year | 9.8% | Bottom 35%of 935 | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Airport | Code | Distance | Longest runway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arnold Palmer Rgnl | LBE | 89 mi | 8,222 ft |
| Erie Intl/Tom Ridge Fld | ERI | 91 mi | 8,420 ft |
| Elmira/Corning Rgnl | ELM | 104 mi | 8,001 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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Similar places
Matched on AreaProfile signals, not geographyData & methodology
| Used for | Source | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Federal Aviation Administration Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service | NASR current cycle |
| Physical risk | Federal Emergency Management Agency National Risk Index | National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0) |
| Climate | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly) | 1991-2020 Normals |
| Jobs | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics | July 2026 |
| Demographics | U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program | July 1, 2024 estimate |
| Development | U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey | 12 months ending July 2026 |
| Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, Jobs | U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) | 2024 ACS 5-Year |
| Schools | U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments | 2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year |
| Housing | U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research Fair Market Rents | FY2026 |
| Current conditions | NOAA 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.