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Place dossier plate
SheetPA-SYLVANIA-PA · Sylvania, PA 243 pop · income 32nd pct
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 Sylvania
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Sylvania on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Chewton · lowest
50,625
Chewton · lowest
50,625 median HH income
43.8% of the leader · rank #1
Sylvania · this city
58,125
Sylvania · this city
58,125 median HH income
50.3% of the leader · rank #2
Horn Hill · near
58,125
Horn Hill · near
58,125 median HH income
50.3% of the leader · rank #3
Manokotak · near
58,125
Manokotak · near
58,125 median HH income
50.3% of the leader · rank #4
Pinal · near
58,125
Pinal · near
58,125 median HH income
50.3% of the leader · rank #5
Lewiston · near
58,125
Lewiston · near
58,125 median HH income
50.3% of the leader · rank #6
Mount Gretna… · highest
115,625
Mount Gretna… · highest
115,625 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
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.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Sylvania 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: 243.
Nationally, Sylvania sits in the 32nd percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
32nd
percentile, household income
24th
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: Sylvania, PA
243 people live in Sylvania, Pennsylvania - a small town by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. Households in Sylvania report a median income of $58,125 per year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 9.3%. Typical homes in Sylvania are valued around $139,400, and the median resident age is 30.6 years. 21.1% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 55.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in Sylvania (No Permits), per Census BPS data.
Pennsylvania tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Pennsylvania scores 97.6 (Near Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,225 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Pennsylvania run around $260, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. Natural-hazard exposure scores 67.4 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Sylvania'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 work and mobility to housing and income to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Sylvania, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, matched public-school count; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Comparison shortlist
Which cities make useful reference points for Sylvania?
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 Chewton (243 residents, $50,625 income); Wallaceton (245 residents, $61,875 income); Aaronsburg CDP (Washington County) (246 residents). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Axis, AL (243 residents); Edwardsville, AL (243 residents); Trowbridge, CA (243 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.
What does the journey to work look like in Sylvania?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 94.1%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
How far does income reach against housing in Sylvania?
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. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 9.3%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
Is Sylvania growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -4 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.9% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Below median income · poverty 9.3% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
97.6 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Pennsylvania average
D
City profile score · Sylvania, PA
40/100
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.
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.
Poverty rate D
9.3%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
21.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income F
$58,125
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Sylvania profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 50/100 (C-) · 97.6 index
Poverty rate: 42/100 (D) · 9.3%
Bachelor's+ share: 38/100 (F) · 21.1%
Household income: 32/100 (F) · $58,125
How does Sylvania compare to other US cities?
Here's how Sylvania stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income32% higher than other cities
Home value24% pricier than other cities
Median rent54% 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 Sylvania 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 Sylvania near the bottom of Pennsylvania's cities
Among the 1,865 Pennsylvania cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Sylvania ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Sylvania only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#1,176 of 1,765
33rd percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,865
0th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Home Value
#1,144 of 1,790
36th percentile in Pennsylvania
Poverty Rate
#593 of 1,856
68th percentile in Pennsylvania
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#957 of 1,861
48th 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.
Gauge source note
32nd percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Sylvania's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$139,400Among the most affordablemore affordable than 76% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
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
Sylvania's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,479 of 15,516
More affordable than 78% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,173 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.4×, Sylvania sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,479 of 15,516 and #3,173 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$58,125Sylvania, PA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Sylvania, 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 Sylvania, PA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)21.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)9.3%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)55.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
243
Median Income
$58,125
Median Home Value
$139,400
Median Age
30.6
Poverty Rate
9.3%
Labor force participation
55.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
21.1%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Sylvania's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
211 residents
2021
211 residents
2022
209 residents
2023
209 residents
2024
208 residents
2025
207 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
0
0
0
-
2023
0
0
0
-
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
94.1%
Carpool
0.0%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
5.9%
Work from Home
0.0%
Based on 85 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 Sylvania. 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 Sylvania 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 Sylvania sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Sylvania 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.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census BPS 2024, 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.