Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Area Profile

18,087 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Johnstown, in Cambria County.

53out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 29% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
Opportunity3,827th of 4,199 cities measured33
Schools3,323rd of 4,162 cities measured26
Growth3,912th of 4,224 cities measured23
Housing affordabilityTop 21% of 4,218 cities measured76
Climate3,169th of 4,225 cities measured62
Physical resilienceTop 2% of 4,226 cities measured96
Access3,085th of 4,226 cities measured84
Economic stability4,186th of 4,226 cities measured14
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable cities measured: unemployment is 5.9% and the Opportunity signal places Johnstown in the bottom 9%.

In the public schools here, 26% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.3 students for every teacher.

0 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 3% of the prior year — steady rather than turning. The change in permitting is published for Cambria County, PA, which contains Johnstown, rather than for Johnstown alone.

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
18,087
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$37,888
Bottom 8% nationally
Density
3,059/sq mi
5.9 sq mi of land
Median age
44.0
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Pennsylvania
Metro area
Nearest major airport
LBE
26 mi · Arnold Palmer Rgnl
Median home value
$45,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.9% — higher than in all but 9% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 2.8% over the past year, to 6,783 employed residents.

Median household income of $37,888 is lower than in 92% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsCambria County, PA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$48,9786th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftCambria County, PA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$51,8169th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,9232024 ACS 5-Year$37,888Bottom 8%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,4892024 ACS 5-Year$24,013Bottom 17%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year31.7%Bottom 9%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.7 min2024 ACS 5-Year20.7 minTop 20%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year15.8%Bottom 37%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year68.0%24th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 20266,783Bottom 1%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.9%Bottom 26%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+2.8%Top 3%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 20267,2081st percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year67.9%Bottom 22%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageJohnstown, PA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$53,460Bottom 4%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageJohnstown, PA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$44,110Bottom 5%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year4.8%95th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.5%Top 25%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20265.9%Bottom 9%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year10.1%61st percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/078.34.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.9% 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.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202438k31k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $37,888 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.

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

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

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.

26% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 45% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.3 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
12.3
across all schools here
Math proficiency
25.6%
Bottom 9% in Pennsylvania
Reading proficiency
45.1%
Bottom 13% in Pennsylvania
All 4 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Greater Johnstown SHSGreater Johnstown SD91712.919%40%
Greater Johnstown MSGreater Johnstown SD61511.810%29%
Conemaugh Valley El SchConemaugh Valley SD37412.150%66%
Conemaugh Valley JSHSConemaugh Valley SD30811.847%67%

93.3% 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.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 12% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 88.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Johnstown, PA Metro Area is up 47% over five years, and up 6.1% 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 $1,199 a year in real estate taxes, about 2.64% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,035, some 61% above the $644 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,035 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $41,400 a year, about 109% of the median household income here of $37,888.

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 $644 a month.

A median home at $45,400 costs 0.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $48,170, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
88.5

Prices here run about 12% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Johnstown, PA Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
28.3%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
0.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,035
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$644
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$45,400
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Johnstown’s median household income of $37,888, 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
Cost of living indexthe Johnstown, PA Metro Area’s figure202388.5Top 3%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Johnstown, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+6.1%88th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Johnstown, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+46.7%68th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Johnstown, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+71.7%16th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year0.9Top 3%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year55.2%14th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3502024 ACS 5-Year11,65495th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$846Top 10%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,431Top 14%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,035Top 9%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$492024 ACS 5-Year$644Top 11%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$3,3962024 ACS 5-Year$45,4002nd percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$882024 ACS 5-Year$1,19931st percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$3,7522024 ACS 5-Year$48,170Bottom 10%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.28%2024 ACS 5-Year2.64%98th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year28.3%Top 50%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±552024 ACS 5-Year7487th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%58th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year22.5%91st percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3142024 ACS 5-Year2,70198th 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 and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

23/ 100
Ranks 3,912 of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was broadly flat, in a series running from 2022 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 fallen 3% since 2020, to 17,853 in 2024.

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 Cambria County, PA, which contains Johnstown, rather than for Johnstown alone.

Federal tax returns show that people moving in from elsewhere in the US and people moving out roughly balanced across Cambria County, which contains Johnstown, in the most recent year. Households that moved in reported an average income of $48,978, below the $51,816 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
−3%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202418k18k
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 falling for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
0.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
37%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$48,978
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$51,816
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Somerset County, PA 429 people · 12% of arrivals
  2. Blair County, PA 296 people · 8.6% of arrivals
  3. Indiana County, PA 212 people · 6.2% of arrivals
  4. Philadelphia County, PA 196 people · 5.7% of arrivals
  5. Allegheny County, PA 166 people · 4.8% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Somerset County, PA 460 people · 13% of departures
  2. Blair County, PA 336 people · 9.7% of departures
  3. Allegheny County, PA 271 people · 7.8% of departures
  4. Indiana County, PA 261 people · 7.6% of departures
  5. Westmoreland County, PA 158 people · 4.6% 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 Cambria County, PA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

20222023202420250.00.0
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 79°F and January a low of 19°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 41.3 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 42, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

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, 4.5 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.4"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year592024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals41.3"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals19°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals79°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year422024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
42
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
59
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

96 / 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 76% of it. Every one of these is independently rated low or minimal nationally — this describes how a small risk is composed, not a large one.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 98% of measured US cities.

HurricaneModerate

Low or minimal exposure: inland flooding, lightning, landslide, winter weather, strong wind, hail, cold wave, tornado, earthquake, avalanche, wildfire, ice storm, heat wave, drought, tsunami, coastal flooding, 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
589
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
2,072
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.

Johnstown's police department reported 589 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, higher than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 2,072.

Cambria County has a modeled homicide rate of about 3.6 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 17.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 12.2 per 100,000 residents in Cambria County.

Homicide
3.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
17.6
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
12.2
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
19.9
per 100,000 residents

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 Johnstown’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 Johnstown (Cambria County) rather than Johnstown 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.

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. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. 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 26 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year83.4%Bottom 26%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle26 miBottom 33%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-Year14.0%Bottom 24%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Arnold Palmer RgnlLBE26 mi8,222 ft
Pittsburgh IntlPIT70 mi11,500 ft
Youngstown/Warren RgnlYNG113 mi9,003 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
53
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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)
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
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
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
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
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
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 Johnstown

3 ZIP areas

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

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
1590211,462$44,215$65,10052
159069,504$43,284$57,10057
159013,397$27,121$20,80052