City profile · Pennsylvania · Census ACS 2023

Bala Cynwyd, PA

Bala Cynwyd's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

9,622
Residents
$144,453
Median income
$628,400
Median home
$1,225
Median rent (state)
View my watchlist

Compare or rank this city

Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.

Compare with another city

Starting with Bala Cynwyd, PA - add up to three more cities on the compare page.

See how it ranks

State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Bala Cynwyd.

Place dossier plate

Sheet PA-BALA-CYNWYD-PA · Bala Cynwyd, PA 9,622 pop · income 93rd pct

POP-TOWN · INC-TOP · COL-PAR · SAFE-UNK · RANK-TOP · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-HIGH · BOOK-UNK

  • POP-TOWN 9,622
  • INC-TOP $144,453
  • COL-PAR 97.6
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-TOP 93rd
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Hickory Creek
  • HOME-HIGH $628,400
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: Hickory Creek, TX ( $19 income $)

Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.

Income neighbourhood around Bala Cynwyd

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Bala Cynwyd on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Bala Cynwyd on ACS population and median household income . Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.

Similar population

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 9,622.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $144,453. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Bala Cynwyd - the verdict

Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Bala Cynwyd places in the 93rd percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.

93rd
percentile, household income
90th
percentile, home value
54th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this

Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.

Data Snapshot: Bala Cynwyd, PA

Census ACS 2023 estimates count 9,622 residents in Bala Cynwyd, a small town within Pennsylvania. The typical household in Bala Cynwyd brings in $144,453 a year, placing it in the top quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 7.2%. Typical homes in Bala Cynwyd are valued around $628,400, and the median resident age is 41.9 years. 74.3% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 62.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

The city is served by 3 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.

Pennsylvania tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Pennsylvania at 97.6 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,225 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Pennsylvania's average monthly utility costs around $260 (state average). The average commute for Bala Cynwyd workers runs 20.2 minutes, with 57.5% driving alone and 29.1% working from home. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 67.4 out of 100 (Moderate).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Bala Cynwyd's data

How this reading path is ordered

This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to housing and income to schools and households to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Bala Cynwyd, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares. No matched row is reported here for annual population history, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

1. Comparison shortlist

Which cities make useful reference points for Bala Cynwyd?

Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.

Within Pennsylvania, the closest population matches are Sunbury (9,643 residents, $48,509 income); Lititz (9,599 residents, $82,861 income); Middletown (9,567 residents, $54,778 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Middletown, KY (9,622 residents); Walker Mill, MD (9,626 residents); Brownsville, TN (9,634 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

2. Housing and income

How far does income reach against housing in Bala Cynwyd?

This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.

The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 4.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 7.2%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

Compare the housing trade-off →

3. Schools and households

What does the education layer cover for Bala Cynwyd?

The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.

The NCES join finds 3 public schools within the city match. 74.3% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.

See how the family ranking is built →

Question 4

What does the journey to work look like in Bala Cynwyd?

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 57.5%. The reported mean trip to work is 20.2 minutes.

Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.

Compare commute patterns →

Population

9,622 residents

Micro place (under 10k)

Median Household Income

$144,453 /yr

Top-decile income · poverty 7.2% (Below-median poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

97.6 (US=100)

Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Pennsylvania average

City profile score · Bala Cynwyd, PA

73/100

4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023

Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Bachelor's+ share A+
74.3%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Household income A+
$144,453

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Poverty rate C-
7.2%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Cost of living C-
97.6 index

BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

Bala Cynwyd profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Bachelor's+ share, Household income, Poverty rate, Cost of living. Bachelor's+ shareHousehold incomePoverty rateCost of living 73 B
Bala Cynwyd profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Bachelor's+ share: 100/100 (A+) · 74.3%
  • Household income: 94/100 (A+) · $144,453
  • Poverty rate: 51/100 (C-) · 7.2%
  • Cost of living: 50/100 (C-) · 97.6 index

How does Bala Cynwyd compare to other US cities?

Here's how Bala Cynwyd stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.

Household income 93% higher than other cities
Home value 90% pricier than other cities
Median rent 54% pricier than other cities

"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.

How we calculate these percentiles & ranks

Each percentile compares Bala Cynwyd against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Pennsylvania only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.

Pennsylvania-relative analysis

Median Gross Rent places Bala Cynwyd near the bottom of Pennsylvania's cities

Among the 1,865 Pennsylvania cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Bala Cynwyd ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Bala Cynwyd only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#50 of 1,765
97th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,865
0th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Home Value
#19 of 1,790
99th percentile in Pennsylvania
Poverty Rate
#770 of 1,856
58th percentile in Pennsylvania
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#37 of 1,861
98th percentile in Pennsylvania
How in-state ranks are ordered

Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Pennsylvania only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.

93rdIncome percentile
Gauge source note

93rd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Bala Cynwyd's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$628,400 10th percentile more affordable than 10% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Below this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). This entry sits in this band. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. Bala Cynwyd $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023

Bala Cynwyd's home-value-to-income ratio: 4.4×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#11,653 of 15,516
More affordable than 25% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#8,963 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)

At 4.4×, Bala Cynwyd sits in the moderate band: national rank #11,653 of 15,516 and #8,963 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000). Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.

How this ratio is calculated

Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000. Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0). This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.

Income distribution context

$144,453 Bala Cynwyd, PA median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Bala Cynwyd, PA Bala Cynwyd, PA's median household income ($144,453) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Bala Cynwyd, PA-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Bala Cynwyd, PA median $144,453/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Bala Cynwyd, PA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Bala Cynwyd, PA.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 74.3%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 7.2%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 62.2%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
9,622
Median Income
$144,453
Median Home Value
$628,400
Median Age
41.9
Poverty Rate
7.2%
Labor force participation
62.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
74.3%

Schools

Total Schools
3
Public schools in this city

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Average Commute Time
20.2 minutes
Drive Alone
57.5%
Carpool
4.8%
Public Transit
6.0%
Walk
1.9%
Work from Home
29.1%
Other
0.7%

Based on 4,299 workers 16 and over.

Monthly Utility Costs

Pennsylvania statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $260

EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Pennsylvania at $260 (electricity about $120 , water and sewer about $52 ).

These are Pennsylvania statewide averages, not a meter reading for Bala Cynwyd. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.

Living Costs & Risk

Pennsylvania's BEA cost-of-living index is 97.6 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Bala Cynwyd is $1,225/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Pennsylvania statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 67.4 / 100 (Moderate).

Cost/risk geography note

Cost of living is a Pennsylvania statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Bala Cynwyd sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Bala Cynwyd compares to similar-size Pennsylvania cities

Same-state peer method

Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.

City Population Median Household Income
Bala Cynwyd (this city) 9,622 $144,453
Sunbury 9,643 $48,509
Lititz 9,599 $82,861
Middletown 9,567 $54,778
NCES CCD
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

Browse all city profiles → · Explore city rankings →

Verify with HUD →

Verify with FBI →

Verify with NOAA →

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau →

Verify with EPA →

Verify with FEMA →

Verify with BEA →

Verify with EIA →

Verify with NCES →

Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Share or download this profile