Berwick, Pennsylvania

Area Profile

10,317 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Berwick, in Columbia County.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 41% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
Opportunity2,773rd of 4,199 cities measured49
SchoolsTop 38% of 4,162 cities measured59
Growth2,858th of 4,224 cities measured42
Housing affordabilityTop 23% of 4,218 cities measured76
Climate2,971st of 4,225 cities measured63
Physical resilience2,154th of 4,226 cities measured57
Access3,943rd of 4,226 cities measured62
Economic stability3,366th of 4,226 cities measured39
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.5% and median household income $49,800, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Columbia County, PA, which contains Berwick, rather than for Berwick alone.

In the public schools here, 55% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.1 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 29% of renter income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 2.4 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
10,317
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$49,800
Bottom 23% nationally
Density
3,356/sq mi
3.1 sq mi of land
Median age
40.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Pennsylvania
Nearest major airport
MDT
65 mi · Harrisburg Intl
Median home value
$156,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Columbia County, PA, which contains Berwick, is 4.5% — higher than in all but 43% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Columbia County, PA, which contains Berwick, grew 2.3% over the past year, to 30,059 employed residents.

Median household income of $49,800 is lower than in 77% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$5,1922024 ACS 5-Year$49,800Bottom 23%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,7562024 ACS 5-Year$29,403Bottom 35%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year16.9%Bottom 30%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±2.3 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.1 minTop 26%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year21.3%Top 48%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year79.6%58th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentColumbia County, PA’s figureJuly 202630,059Bottom 35%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Columbia County, PA’s figureJuly 2026−1.6%Bottom 30%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Columbia County, PA’s figureJuly 2026+2.3%Top 6%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceColumbia County, PA’s figureJuly 202631,48435th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year74.0%Bottom 36%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%76th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Columbia County, PA’s figureJuly 2026−0.9%Top 14%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateColumbia County, PA’s figureJuly 20264.5%Bottom 43%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year9.0%56th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202450k44k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $49,800 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Columbia County, PA, which contains this city.

55% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 66% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.1 students for every full-time teacher across 4 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
4
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.1
across all schools here
Math proficiency
54.6%
Top 45% in Pennsylvania
Reading proficiency
65.9%
Top 49% in Pennsylvania
All 4 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Berwick Area MSBerwick Area SD83712.935%60%
Berwick Area HSBerwick Area SD69213.367%67%
East Berwick El SchBerwick Area SD53913.167%77%
West Berwick El SchBerwick Area SD48713.257%62%

71.2% 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.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the non-metropolitan parts of Pennsylvania is up 51% over five years, and up 5.7% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,813 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.16% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,140, some 43% above the $797 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,140 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $45,600 a year, about 92% of the median household income here of $49,800.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $797 a month.

A median home at $156,500 costs 2.4 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $64,724, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
28.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.4×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,140
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$797
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$156,500
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Berwick’s median household income of $49,800, 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 change (1 year)the non-metropolitan parts of Pennsylvania’s figure2026 Q2+5.7%84th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Pennsylvania’s figure2026 Q2+50.5%81st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the non-metropolitan parts of Pennsylvania’s figure2026 Q2+86.5%39th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.52024 ACS 5-Year2.4Top 48%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year60.3%21st percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2522024 ACS 5-Year4,92788th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$941Top 18%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,367Top 11%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,140Top 16%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$912024 ACS 5-Year$797Top 28%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$10,7452024 ACS 5-Year$156,50040th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2142024 ACS 5-Year$1,81351st percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$11,9572024 ACS 5-Year$64,724Bottom 30%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.16%2024 ACS 5-Year1.16%61st percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year28.6%Bottom 48%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±202024 ACS 5-Year1367th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.3%54th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year5.5%42nd percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1472024 ACS 5-Year28483rd percentileof 32,3302024 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

42/ 100
Ranks 2,858 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

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 been broadly flat since 2020, at 10,332 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 5 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.5 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
5
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.5
Bottom 15% nationally
Year over year
+67%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202410k10k
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 holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420255.00.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 20°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 38.7 inches, including 45.1 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WILKES-BARRE INTL AP, 33.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals38.7"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals45.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals20°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals46°F1991-2020 Normals

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

Physical risk

57 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, cold wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 78% of it. Cold wave and tornado are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Inland floodingElevated
HurricaneModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, landslide, lightning, heat wave, strong wind, earthquake, ice storm, cold wave, tornado, avalanche, wildfire, hail, 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. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
145
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
929
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Berwick's police department reported 145 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 929.

Columbia County has a modeled homicide rate of about 4.3 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 9.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 11.8 per 100,000 residents in Columbia County.

Homicide
4.3
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
9.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
11.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
14.0
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Berwick’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Berwick (Columbia County) rather than Berwick itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

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.

Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
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

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Harrisburg Intl at 65 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year88.0%Bottom 42%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle65 miBottom 6%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 20%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year11.0%Bottom 33%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Harrisburg IntlMDT65 mi10,001 ft
Elmira/Corning RgnlELM83 mi8,001 ft
Philadelphia IntlPHL97 mi12,000 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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Other cities in Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
BloomsburgColumbia County13,02456Bloomsburg vs Berwick

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Berwick side by side with a similar place.

Berwick vs BloomsburgBerwick vs Pottsville

Moving to Berwick from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
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
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
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
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
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
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.

ZIP codes in Berwick

1 ZIP area

Every ZIP area in Berwick with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
1860318,827$60,352$170,50056