Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania

Area Profile

13,024 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Bloomsburg, in Columbia County.

56out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 39% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
Opportunity2,466th of 4,199 cities measured52
SchoolsTop 23% of 4,162 cities measured71
Growth3,771st of 4,224 cities measured27
Housing affordabilityTop 9% of 4,218 cities measured82
Climate3,058th of 4,225 cities measured63
Physical resilience2,636th of 4,226 cities measured47
Access3,901st of 4,226 cities measured64
Economic stability3,412th of 4,226 cities measured38
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.5% and median household income $51,536, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Columbia County, PA, which contains Bloomsburg, rather than for Bloomsburg alone.

In the public schools here, 61% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.4 students for every teacher.

No residential units were authorized over the past twelve months, against a nonzero total the year before. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

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
13,024
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$51,536
Bottom 25% nationally
Density
2,995/sq mi
4.3 sq mi of land
Median age
24.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Pennsylvania
Nearest major airport
MDT
58 mi · Harrisburg Intl
Median home value
$179,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

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

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

32% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 73% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsColumbia County, PA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$51,60710th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftColumbia County, PA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,78018th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,5882024 ACS 5-Year$51,536Bottom 25%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,4832024 ACS 5-Year$23,970Bottom 17%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±9%2024 ACS 5-Year17.0%Bottom 29%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year16.0 minTop 7%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year32.5%Top 27%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year68.4%24th 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-Year80.4%Top 42%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.3%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st 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-Year13.4%72nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202452k42k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $51,536 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.

61% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 70% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.4 students for every full-time teacher across 9 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
9
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
61.1%
Top 26% in Pennsylvania
Reading proficiency
70.5%
Top 36% in Pennsylvania
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Central Columbia El SchCentral Columbia SD70513.169%77%
Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical SchoolColumbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School60913.052%52%
Central Columbia SHSCentral Columbia SD60113.787%87%
Central Columbia MSCentral Columbia SD58714.759%75%
Memorial El SchBloomsburg Area SD40511.337%61%
Bloomsburg Area MSBloomsburg Area SD38014.134%64%
Bloomsburg Area HSBloomsburg Area SD36213.982%77%
W W Evans Memorial El SchBloomsburg Area SD25014.752%57%
Beaver-Main El SchBloomsburg Area SD9515.865%85%

43.4% 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 $1,985 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.11% 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 16% above the $980 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 88% of the median household income here of $51,536.

The typical renter household here spends 26% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $980 a month.

A median home at $179,100 costs 2.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $77,854, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
25.8%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,140
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$980
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$179,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Bloomsburg’s median household income of $51,536, 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-Year2.3Top 44%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year35.4%3rd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3202024 ACS 5-Year5,38089th 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 ±$592024 ACS 5-Year$980Bottom 49%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,2782024 ACS 5-Year$179,10048th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$2582024 ACS 5-Year$1,98556th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$14,4482024 ACS 5-Year$77,854Bottom 49%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.17%2024 ACS 5-Year1.11%58th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year25.8%Top 36%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±712024 ACS 5-Year8988th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.7%67th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year13.1%74th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2142024 ACS 5-Year79693rd 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

27/ 100
Ranks 3,771 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, 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 grown 5% since 2020, reaching 13,286 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward in 2025, after moving the other way the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 0 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Columbia County, PA, which contains Bloomsburg, rather than for Bloomsburg alone.

Federal tax returns show Columbia County, which contains Bloomsburg, gained about 0.5% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $51,607, below the $56,780 of households that moved out.

At 0.0 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
0
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.0
Bottom 1% nationally
Year over year
−100%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202413k13k
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.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.5%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
26%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$51,607
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$56,780
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Luzerne County, PA 542 people · 24% of arrivals
  2. Northumberland County, PA 239 people · 10% of arrivals
  3. Montour County, PA 209 people · 9.1% of arrivals
  4. Lycoming County, PA 103 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  5. Schuylkill County, PA 86 people · 3.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Luzerne County, PA 366 people · 18% of departures
  2. Northumberland County, PA 226 people · 11% of departures
  3. Montour County, PA 186 people · 9.0% of departures
  4. Lycoming County, PA 116 people · 5.6% of departures
  5. Schuylkill County, PA 59 people · 2.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Columbia County, PA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420251.00.0
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 84°F and January a low of 20°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 40.9 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station SELINSGROVE PENN VLY AP, 24.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.5"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals40.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals20°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 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

47 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, strong wind and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 81% of it. Strong wind 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, strong wind, heat wave, earthquake, ice storm, avalanche, cold wave, tornado, wildfire, 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. 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.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

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.

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 Bloomsburg (Columbia County) rather than Bloomsburg itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read 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.

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. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. 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.
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

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Harrisburg Intl at 58 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year89.3%Bottom 48%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle58 miBottom 9%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year7.0%Top 48%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Harrisburg IntlMDT58 mi10,001 ft
Elmira/Corning RgnlELM83 mi8,001 ft
Philadelphia IntlPHL101 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
BerwickColumbia County10,31756Berwick vs Bloomsburg

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 Bloomsburg side by side with a similar place.

Bloomsburg vs WilliamsportBloomsburg vs Berwick

Moving to Bloomsburg 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
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
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 Bloomsburg

1 ZIP area

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

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
1781529,790$67,510$222,90057