State College, Pennsylvania

Area Profile

41,050 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for State College, in Centre County.

70out of 100
Area Score
Top 15% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 27% of 4,199 cities measured68
SchoolsTop 3% of 4,162 cities measured91
GrowthTop 18% of 4,224 cities measured68
Housing affordability3,474th of 4,218 cities measured47
Climate2,967th of 4,225 cities measured63
Physical resilienceTop 13% of 4,226 cities measured89
Access4,015th of 4,226 cities measured56
Economic stability2,943rd of 4,226 cities measured47
The quick read

Unemployment is 3.8% and median household income $45,424, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured.

Public schools test above most of the state: 70% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 3% of published profiles for schools.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 180 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, against 3 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
41,050
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$45,424
Bottom 16% nationally
Density
8,967/sq mi
4.6 sq mi of land
Median age
21.2
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Pennsylvania
Nearest major airport
MDT
71 mi · Harrisburg Intl
Median home value
$437,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.8%, lower than in 69% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment grew 4.1% over the past year, to 16,462 employed residents.

68% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 96% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $45,424 is lower than in 84% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsCentre County, PA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$63,85234th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftCentre County, PA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$65,08335th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$6,6882024 ACS 5-Year$45,424Bottom 16%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$2,4572024 ACS 5-Year$24,746Bottom 19%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±9%2024 ACS 5-Year11.4%Bottom 47%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.2 min2024 ACS 5-Year16.9 minTop 9%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year68.4%Top 4%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year38.3%3rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202616,462Bottom 16%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+0.7%Top 34%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+4.1%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202617,11116th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year81.5%Top 38%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageState College, PA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$62,190Bottom 23%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageState College, PA Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$49,220Bottom 35%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.4%97th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.3%Top 5%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.8%Top 31%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year15.3%77th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.52.2
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.8% in July 2026. It has been falling for the last 2 months, 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

202120222023202447k43k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $45,424 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 — State College, PA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,320$27,790
Retail Salespersons1,710$29,240
General and Operations Managers1,470$91,120
Office Clerks, General1,460$43,920
Home Health and Personal Care Aides1,380$29,950
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners1,360$35,850

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.

70% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 80% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 11.4 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
11.4
across all schools here
Math proficiency
69.7%
Top 9% in Pennsylvania
Reading proficiency
80.3%
Top 11% in Pennsylvania
All 9 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
State College Area HSState College Area SD2,40211.680%85%
Mount Nittany MSState College Area SD75211.854%78%
Mount Nittany El SchState College Area SD41312.962%72%
Spring Creek El SchState College Area SD36013.877%87%
Young Scholars of Central PA CS · charterYoung Scholars of Central PA CS3217.844%68%
Easterly Parkway El SchState College Area SD31410.167%72%
Corl Street El SchState College Area SD25011.977%82%
Centre Learning Community CS · charterCentre Learning Community CS6713.437%67%
Nittany Valley CS · charterNittany Valley CS517.310%50%

24.6% 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 6% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 93.7, 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 State College, PA Metro Area is up 38% over five years, and up 3.2% 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 $4,618 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.05% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,406, some 10% above the $1,273 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,406 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $56,200 a year, about 124% of the median household income here of $45,424.

The typical renter household here spends 43% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,273 a month.

A median home at $437,800 costs 3.1 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $140,123, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
93.7

Prices here run about 6% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the State College, 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
43.2%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.1×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,406
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,273
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$437,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against State College’s median household income of $45,424, 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 State College, PA Metro Area’s figure202393.7Top 21%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the State College, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+3.2%50th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the State College, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+37.5%35th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the State College, PA Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+69.8%15th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.32024 ACS 5-Year3.1Bottom 32%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year26.1%2nd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5042024 ACS 5-Year13,26196th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,194Top 37%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,760Top 33%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,406Top 35%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$552024 ACS 5-Year$1,273Bottom 28%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$24,4052024 ACS 5-Year$437,80085th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$5572024 ACS 5-Year$4,61888th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$12,7352024 ACS 5-Year$140,123Top 9%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.14%2024 ACS 5-Year1.05%55th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year43.2%Bottom 8%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±1372024 ACS 5-Year18693rd percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.4%65th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year13.7%76th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±3182024 ACS 5-Year2,00498th 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

68/ 100
Top 18% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been falling for the last 4 years of 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 1% since 2020, reaching 41,228 in 2024.

Permit activity fell in each of the 4 calendar years through 2025. Over the twelve months since, it has turned the other way — against 3 the year before.

99% of the 180 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

Federal tax returns show Centre County, which contains State College, lost about 0.8% 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 $63,852, close to the $65,083 of households that moved out.

At 4.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
180
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.4
Top 32% nationally
Year over year
+5900%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
98.9%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202441k41k
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
−0.8%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
53%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$63,852
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$65,083
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Clearfield County, PA 289 people · 6.2% of arrivals
  2. Clinton County, PA 209 people · 4.5% of arrivals
  3. Blair County, PA 164 people · 3.5% of arrivals
  4. Allegheny County, PA 118 people · 2.5% of arrivals
  5. Huntingdon County, PA 117 people · 2.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Clearfield County, PA 309 people · 5.6% of departures
  2. Blair County, PA 202 people · 3.6% of departures
  3. Clinton County, PA 181 people · 3.3% of departures
  4. Allegheny County, PA 161 people · 2.9% of departures
  5. Philadelphia County, PA 133 people · 2.4% 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 Centre County, PA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420254282.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+100%).

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 81°F and January a low of 21°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 41.5 inches, including 43.8 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 40, 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 STATE COLLEGE, 0.6 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.2"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year582024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals41.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals43.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals21°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals81°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year402024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
40
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
58
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

89 / 100
Physical resilience

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

Overall hazard risk is lower than 87% of measured US cities.

LandslideModerate
HurricaneModerate

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

Violent crime
153
per 100,000 residents · 2024 calendar year
Property crime
768
per 100,000 residents · 2024 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.

State College's police department reported 153 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 768.

Centre County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.8 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 8.2 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 6.9 per 100,000 residents in Centre County.

Homicide
1.8
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
8.2
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
6.9
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
11.4
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.

Reported by State College Police Department for a population of 57,580, across all twelve months of 2024. That department covers a noticeably different population from the 41,050 in this place itself, so it polices an area wider or narrower than the boundary used elsewhere on this page. Offenses are published by police department rather than by town, so this department was matched to this city by name within the state. Reported crime counts what was reported to and recorded by police.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by State College’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 State College (Centre County) rather than State College 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 Harrisburg Intl at 71 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 cycle71 miBottom 5%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.6%Top 22%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Harrisburg IntlMDT71 mi10,001 ft
Arnold Palmer RgnlLBE89 mi8,222 ft
Elmira/Corning RgnlELM107 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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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
2024 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 State College

1 ZIP area

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

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
1680140,774$61,836$414,60071