Moving to Pennsylvania? Check out our guide to Starting a Business in Pennsylvania.
There are plenty of reasons to move to Pennsylvania: its rich history, great job market, and lush, rolling countryside all make it near the top of any list of great states to live in. The Quaker State is no slouch when it comes to education, either, as it is home to many excellent universities. Check out our rundown of Pennsylvania’s five best cities to live in to give you a better idea of where to settle down in the state.
1. West Chester
West Chester, the county seat of Chester County, is Pennsylvania’s best community to live in. The borough has a strong economy bolstered by the presence of many corporate headquarters, including those of Mars Drinks and VWR International.
2. Wayne
The wealthy Philadelphia suburb of Wayne is Pennsylvania’s #2 most liveable city. Located on the Main Line, a row of affluent communities clustered along the tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Wayne boasts a median household income of nearly $120,000.
3. Malvern
Also located in Chester County are #3 Malvern and #4 Phoenixville. Malvern is a small middle-class borough that is the home of the historic Revolutionary War Paoli Battlefield Site and the studio of Wharton Esherick, a Modernist artist active in the early-to-mid 20th century. Both are National Historic Landmarks.
4. Phoenixville
With a population of around 17K, nearby Phoenixville is a bit larger and boasts a thriving downtown with numerous restaurants and pubs.
5. Mechanicsburg
Rounding out Pennsylvania’s top five best cities to live in is Mechanicsburg, which–despite its name–is not a large conglomeration of auto mechanic shops, but rather an idyllic middle-class borough just off the Appalachian Trail that is home to an arboretum and a speedway.
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Methodology
We ranked a total of 2,509 qualified cities (those with populations above 25,000 and enough data for analysis) by five factors: employment (number of establishments, median earnings); housing (owner-occupied housing with a mortgage, monthly housing costs); quality of life (work commute, poverty levels); education (percentage with a bachelor’s degree or higher); and health (obesity ratios).