Like all states, Pennsylvania has certain places that are going on hard times. These Pennsylvania places have an above-average percentage of people living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
Even as the economy continues to improve, it’s worthwhile to look at the places in each state struggling to make ends meet. So we set our sites on locating the poorest places in Pennsylvania.
To do so, we used Saturday Night Science to analyze the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 189 cities in Pennsylvania with more than 5,000 people.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Poorest Places In Pennsylvania For 2024:
What’s the poorest city in Pennsylvania? According to the facts, Shamokin is the poorest place in Pennsylvania for 2024.
This isn’t a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it’s just a look at the facts.
For more Pennsylvania reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In Pennsylvania
- Cheapest Places To Live In Pennsylvania
- Most Dangerous Cities In Pennsylvania
- The poorest states in the US
- The poorest cities in the US
The 10 Poorest Cities In Pennsylvania For 2024
1. Shamokin
/10
Population: 6,915
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $32,753 (2nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 35.9% (2nd highest)
People In Poverty: 2,482
More on Shamokin: Data | Cost Of Living
Shamokin, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in Pennsylvania thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 6,915 people averages the 2nd lowest median household income in Pennsylvania and the 2nd highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Johnstown
/10
Population: 18,429
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $33,466 (3rd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 32.9% (4th highest)
People In Poverty: 6,059
More on Johnstown: Data | Cost Of Living
The second poorest city in Pennsylvania is Johnstown.
The city ranks as having the 4th highest incidence of poverty and 3rd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate ‘only’ ranks as the 60th highest in the Keystone State.
3. McKeesport
/10
Population: 17,749
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 3)
Median Income: $31,635 (lowest)
Poverty Rate: 28.9% (8th highest)
People In Poverty: 5,125
More on Mckeesport: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Placing as the third poorest city, McKeesport’s median income ranks as the lowest.
And that’s a sign that there’s a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 28.88% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Keystone State.
4. McKees Rocks
/10
Population: 5,893
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $33,958 (4th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 32.6% (5th highest)
People In Poverty: 1,919
More on Mckees Rocks: Data | Cost Of Living
McKees Rocks ranks as the fourth poorest place in Pennsylvania.
The town ranks as having the 4th lowest median household income and the 5th highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there’s still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Lewi
/10
Population: 8,522
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 8)
Median Income: $36,166 (6th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 31.1% (7th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,651
More on Lewi: Data
The fifth poorest city in Pennsylvania is Lewi.
The city ranks as having the 6th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 7th highest in Pennsylvania.
Still not the best news for Lewi.
6. Chester
/10
Population: 33,048
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 1)
Median Income: $39,193 (8th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 28.3% (11th highest)
People In Poverty: 9,365
More on Chester: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
Chester ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Keystone State.
It ranks as having the 11th highest incidence of poverty and the 3rd highest unemployment rate.
7. Uniontown
/10
Population: 9,913
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 5)
Median Income: $37,886 (7th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 27.7% (14th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,747
More on Uniontown: Data | Cost Of Living
Uniontown places as the seventh poorest city in Pennsylvania.
The city of over 9,913 ranks as having the 14th highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. State College
/10
Population: 40,902
Rank Last Year: 19 (Up 11)
Median Income: $43,459 (26th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 42.1% (highest)
People In Poverty: 17,227
More on State College: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living
State College ranks as the eighth poorest city in Pennsylvania.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as one of the highest in the state.
9. Beaver Falls
/10
Population: 8,934
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 5)
Median Income: $39,194 (9th lowest)
Poverty Rate: 26.8% (19th highest)
People In Poverty: 2,391
More on Beaver Falls: Data | Cost Of Living
Beaver Falls couldn’t stay out of the top ten poorest places in Pennsylvania; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 9th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Beaver Falls ranks as having the 19th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in Pennsylvania.
10. Reading
/10
Population: 94,601
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 1)
Median Income: $42,852 (22nd lowest)
Poverty Rate: 28.6% (9th highest)
People In Poverty: 27,065
More on Reading: Data | Cost Of Living
And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in Pennsylvania is Reading.
The city of 94,601 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Keystone State.
Methodology: How We Determined The Poorest Places In Pennsylvania for 2024
The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don’t think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the “poorest places”. So we used Saturday Night Science to look at this set of criteria from the newly released 2018-2022 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income
After we collected the data for all 189 places with more than 5,000 people in Pennsylvania, we ranked each place from 1 to 189 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a “Poor Score” with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Shamokin, crowned the “Poorest Place In Pennsylvania For 2024”.
This report has been updated for 2024, which is our tenth time ranking the poorest places in Pennsylvania.
Summary: The Poorest Cities In Pennsylvania For 2024
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in Pennsylvania, we weren’t sure what we’d encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in Pennsylvania.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you’re curious enough, here are the richest cities in Pennsylvania, according to data:
- Richest: Fox Chapel
2nd Richest: Franklin Park
3rd Richest: Jefferson Hills
For more Pennsylvania reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In Pennsylvania
- Safest Places In Pennsylvania
- Worst Places To Live In Pennsylvania
- Most Expensive Places To Live In Pennsylvania
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In Pennsylvania
| Rank | City | Population | Poverty Rate | Median Income | People In Poverty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shamokin | 6,915 | 35.9% | $32,753 | 2,482 |
| 2 | Johnstown | 18,429 | 32.9% | $33,466 | 6,059 |
| 3 | McKeesport | 17,749 | 28.9% | $31,635 | 5,125 |
| 4 | McKees Rocks | 5,893 | 32.6% | $33,958 | 1,919 |
| 5 | Lewi | 8,522 | 31.1% | $36,166 | 2,651 |
| 6 | Chester | 33,048 | 28.3% | $39,193 | 9,365 |
| 7 | Uniontown | 9,913 | 27.7% | $37,886 | 2,747 |
| 8 | State College | 40,902 | 42.1% | $43,459 | 17,227 |
| 9 | Beaver Falls | 8,934 | 26.8% | $39,194 | 2,391 |
| 10 | Reading | 94,601 | 28.6% | $42,852 | 27,065 |
| 11 | Turtle Creek | 5,087 | 27.9% | $42,344 | 1,417 |
| 12 | New Castle | 21,863 | 26.4% | $39,948 | 5,767 |
| 13 | Darby | 10,682 | 33.8% | $45,511 | 3,612 |
| 14 | Hazleton | 29,671 | 25.7% | $39,362 | 7,625 |
| 15 | Duquesne | 5,241 | 25.8% | $40,969 | 1,353 |
| 16 | Titusville | 5,262 | 23.6% | $36,071 | 1,244 |
| 17 | Bloomsburg | 12,836 | 32.0% | $46,019 | 4,104 |
| 18 | Indiana | 14,082 | 24.6% | $40,013 | 3,471 |
| 19 | Pittston | 7,601 | 27.7% | $44,863 | 2,102 |
| 20 | York | 44,782 | 24.6% | $42,351 | 10,993 |
| 21 | Lock Haven | 8,422 | 25.1% | $42,930 | 2,115 |
| 22 | Corry | 6,209 | 25.5% | $44,138 | 1,581 |
| 23 | Butler | 13,387 | 21.7% | $39,546 | 2,910 |
| 24 | Harrisburg | 50,055 | 28.3% | $46,654 | 14,175 |
| 25 | Clairton | 6,182 | 23.1% | $41,301 | 1,424 |
| 26 | Erie | 94,826 | 24.3% | $43,135 | 23,052 |
| 27 | California | 5,328 | 27.0% | $46,471 | 1,438 |
| 28 | Aliquippa | 9,198 | 23.5% | $42,601 | 2,157 |
| 29 | Bradford | 7,847 | 28.4% | $47,917 | 2,224 |
| 30 | Sharon | 13,143 | 20.3% | $40,089 | 2,668 |
| 31 | Vandergrift | 5,051 | 27.3% | $47,530 | 1,379 |
| 32 | West Hazleton | 5,130 | 26.3% | $46,856 | 1,349 |
| 33 | Wilkinsburg | 14,340 | 23.0% | $46,013 | 3,293 |
| 34 | Sunbury | 9,680 | 19.3% | $42,238 | 1,867 |
| 35 | Punxsutawney | 5,730 | 19.7% | $43,160 | 1,127 |
| 36 | Williamsport | 27,755 | 25.4% | $48,388 | 7,055 |
| 37 | Jeannette | 8,790 | 24.3% | $47,801 | 2,135 |
| 38 | Wilkes-Barre | 44,123 | 21.8% | $46,597 | 9,596 |
| 39 | Pottsville | 13,386 | 20.8% | $46,081 | 2,788 |
| 40 | Lebanon | 26,679 | 23.3% | $47,160 | 6,226 |
| 41 | Tamaqua | 6,911 | 23.5% | $48,920 | 1,621 |
| 42 | New Brighton | 5,645 | 18.7% | $45,880 | 1,053 |
| 43 | New Kensington | 12,163 | 19.4% | $47,015 | 2,363 |
| 44 | Lewisburg | 5,284 | 16.2% | $42,302 | 857 |
| 45 | Collingdale | 8,865 | 21.5% | $49,819 | 1,903 |
| 46 | Nazareth | 6,015 | 16.9% | $45,536 | 1,014 |
| 47 | Scranton | 76,119 | 19.6% | $48,776 | 14,934 |
| 48 | Somerset | 6,030 | 16.3% | $44,519 | 984 |
| 49 | Meadville | 12,929 | 18.1% | $46,157 | 2,341 |
| 50 | Carbondale | 8,818 | 24.1% | $52,681 | 2,123 |
| 51 | Berwick | 10,318 | 18.1% | $46,505 | 1,871 |
| 52 | Mount Carmel | 5,723 | 17.9% | $46,375 | 1,023 |
| 53 | Coatesville | 13,316 | 24.3% | $55,989 | 3,239 |
| 54 | Ambridge | 6,937 | 16.3% | $46,059 | 1,132 |
| 55 | Altoona | 43,821 | 19.3% | $50,435 | 8,457 |
| 56 | Allentown | 125,292 | 21.4% | $52,449 | 26,812 |
| 57 | Washington | 13,358 | 19.4% | $50,548 | 2,592 |
| 58 | Oil City | 9,599 | 16.7% | $48,632 | 1,601 |
| 59 | Clearfield | 5,937 | 18.3% | $50,485 | 1,088 |
| 60 | Kingston | 13,317 | 18.8% | $52,253 | 2,502 |
| 61 | Steelton | 6,243 | 20.6% | $55,861 | 1,283 |
| 62 | Plymouth | 5,771 | 15.3% | $46,858 | 880 |
| 63 | Philadelphia | 1,593,208 | 22.7% | $57,537 | 361,976 |
| 64 | Columbia | 10,203 | 16.5% | $50,309 | 1,687 |
| 65 | Carlisle | 20,846 | 18.9% | $55,756 | 3,939 |
| 66 | Monessen | 6,876 | 16.5% | $51,364 | 1,133 |
| 67 | Middl | 9,525 | 16.0% | $50,599 | 1,524 |
| 68 | Franklin | 6,066 | 17.6% | $54,235 | 1,070 |
| 69 | Nanticoke | 10,606 | 18.4% | $56,238 | 1,956 |
| 70 | Millersville | 8,426 | 26.6% | $65,804 | 2,237 |
| 71 | Munhall | 10,738 | 13.3% | $47,879 | 1,423 |
| 72 | Sharon Hill | 5,976 | 26.8% | $66,378 | 1,599 |
| 73 | Connellsville | 7,004 | 16.2% | $51,943 | 1,131 |
| 74 | Oxford | 5,724 | 20.7% | $59,989 | 1,184 |
| 75 | Taylor | 6,274 | 18.5% | $57,667 | 1,161 |
| 76 | Warren | 9,353 | 12.6% | $49,609 | 1,173 |
| 77 | Pittsburgh | 303,843 | 19.4% | $60,187 | 59,036 |
| 78 | Norri | 35,712 | 18.4% | $59,068 | 6,574 |
| 79 | Milton | 6,610 | 12.7% | $50,431 | 840 |
| 80 | Swissvale | 8,588 | 16.0% | $56,594 | 1,377 |
| 81 | Gettysburg | 7,709 | 12.7% | $50,736 | 981 |
| 82 | Shippensburg | 5,688 | 13.0% | $50,963 | 741 |
| 83 | Chambersburg | 21,917 | 13.7% | $53,493 | 3,011 |
| 84 | Coraopolis | 5,510 | 14.8% | $55,714 | 818 |
| 85 | Folcroft | 6,758 | 15.5% | $56,650 | 1,048 |
| 86 | Greenville | 5,568 | 13.6% | $54,237 | 757 |
| 87 | Lancaster | 57,970 | 18.7% | $61,014 | 10,863 |
| 88 | Tyrone | 5,447 | 12.4% | $50,889 | 674 |
| 89 | Pott | 23,356 | 15.1% | $57,647 | 3,526 |
| 90 | Greensburg | 14,876 | 15.4% | $58,001 | 2,295 |
| 91 | Bethlehem | 76,555 | 18.3% | $62,072 | 13,994 |
| 92 | Clifton Heights | 6,834 | 16.7% | $61,155 | 1,144 |
| 93 | West Chester | 19,016 | 21.0% | $71,875 | 3,987 |
| 94 | Bellefonte | 6,071 | 12.6% | $56,008 | 762 |
| 95 | Waynesboro | 11,009 | 13.0% | $56,413 | 1,430 |
| 96 | Bangor | 5,172 | 9.9% | $51,578 | 513 |
| 97 | Brentwood | 9,982 | 13.2% | $57,900 | 1,316 |
| 98 | Easton | 28,883 | 16.5% | $62,642 | 4,774 |
| 99 | Lehighton | 5,279 | 14.4% | $59,940 | 758 |
| 100 | East Stroudsburg | 9,345 | 15.0% | $60,137 | 1,401 |