Census-designated place · Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Blue Bell, Pennsylvania

Blue Bell is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, part of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area. It has 6,424 residents. Blue Bell, Pennsylvania has a quality-of-life score of 98 out of 100 (very high), ranking #328 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Pennsylvania it ranks #5 of 997 cities and towns. It ranks best on poor or fair health (low), physical inactivity (low) and flu vaccinations (high). It ranks worst on time spent in the emergency room (high), child care cost burden (high) and comfortable days (low).

98Very high

Quality-of-life score: #328 of 15,651 cities and towns
Pennsylvania: #5 of 997 in PA
Population: 6,424 (2020-2024)
Land area: 5 mi²
Density: 1,192.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 4207224

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 72 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety86#2,194/15,637
Economy89#1,707/15,631
Housing74#3,959/14,977
Health96#604/15,609
Healthcare98#280/15,650
Environment37#9,752/15,453
Education100#67/15,649
Infrastructure84#2,563/15,650
Community98#276/15,651
Leisure & amenities77#3,642/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Blue Bell, Pennsylvania ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Montgomery County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Poor or fair health · low8.3%
100/100Pennsylvania 17.0%United States 19.9%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Physical inactivity · low11.9%
99/100Pennsylvania 20.8%United States 26.5%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Flu vaccinations · high61.0%
99/100Pennsylvania 52.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value
Frequent mental distress · low12.4%
99/100Pennsylvania 15.9%United States 18.6%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Bachelor's degree or higher · high75.0%
98/100Pennsylvania 35.2%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Gyms and fitness centers · high2.5 /10k
97/100Pennsylvania 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMontgomery County value

Weaknesses

Time spent in the emergency room · high238 min
6/100Pennsylvania 191 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMontgomery County value
Child care cost burden · high37.9%
14/100Pennsylvania 34.6%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value
Comfortable days · low23.8%
20/100Pennsylvania 23.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationMontgomery County value
Average commute time · high31.3 min
22/100Pennsylvania 26.3 minUnited States 26.4 min2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08013
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high8.5 µg/m³
28/100Pennsylvania 8.3 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMontgomery County value
Drinking water violations · high1
36/100Pennsylvania 1United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Public transit commutersWorsening
9.5% (2015-2019) → 1.9% (2020-2024)
−7.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
Median household incomeImproving
$132,204 (2015-2019) → $171,818 (2020-2024)
+30%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
25.5% (2015-2019) → 29.0% (2020-2024)
+3.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Poverty rateWorsening
1.0% (2015-2019) → 3.4% (2020-2024)
+2.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
94.8% (2015-2019) → 96.9% (2020-2024)
+2.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
0.9% (2015-2019) → 2.4% (2020-2024)
+1.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 11 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+30%$132,204 → $171,818

Declined2

Poverty+2.4 points1.0% → 3.4%
Uninsured+1.5 points0.9% → 2.4%

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	33.3 min2015-2019	31.3 min2020-2024	−2.1 min	Within the margin of error	71%
Bachelor's degree or higher	73.8%2015-2019	75.0%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	36%
Broadband subscriptions	94.8%2015-2019	96.9%2020-2024	+2.1 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Child poverty rate	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Effective property tax rate	1.12%2015-2019	0.96%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	51%
High school diploma or higher	98.6%2015-2019	98.2%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Home price to income ratio	3.6×2015-2019	3.6×2020-2024	−0.0×	Within the margin of error	80%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4242015-2019	0.4402020-2024	+0.016	Within the margin of error	37%
Median household income	$132,2042015-2019	$171,8182020-2024	+30%	Improved	55%
Poverty rate	1.0%2015-2019	3.4%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Declined	24%
Rent as share of income	21.4%2015-2019	22.0%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Rent-burdened households	25.5%2015-2019	29.0%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Unemployment rate	5.7%2015-2019	4.4%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	0.9%2015-2019	2.4%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Declined	30%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Blue Bell, Pennsylvania five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Blue Bell, Pennsylvania itself moved −0.6 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

6,424 residents (±517)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

2,452 households (±185)

Blue Bell, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Under $25k4.1%†101
$25k–50k9.7%†238
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

2,452 households (±185)

Blue Bell, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Own84%2,063
Rent16%389

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

3,065 workers (±304)

Blue Bell, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Drive alone58%1,785
Carpool2.3%†71
Public transit1.9%†58

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Montgomery County, the county holding most of Blue Bell's residents.

Montgomery County has 26,711 employer establishments, 307 for every 10,000 residents (1.24× the US rate of 248; 1.30× Pennsylvania's), with 559,196 paid employees at an average annual pay of $82,456. The Census Bureau also counts 81,134 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 26,711; 81,134 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 307; US 248 · Pennsylvania 236
Paid employees: 559,196
Average annual pay: $82,456; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Montgomery County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	2,452	28.2	1.35×More than typical	36,718	$69,957	5,842
Restaurants and other eating places	1,653	19	1.03×About typical	27,857	$23,424	291
Specialty trade contractors	1,559	17.9	1.16×About typical	15,959	$87,794	4,209
Lessors of real estate	1,079	12.4	1.01×About typical	6,494	$88,760	11,704
Services to buildings and dwellings	866	10	1.48×More than typical	14,022	$39,321	2,649
Management, scientific and technical consulting	815	9.4	1.40×More than typical	9,944	$107,520	4,788
Construction of buildings	805	9.3	1.22×About typical	6,554	$106,557	1,783
Personal care services	792	9.1	1.91×More than typical	4,707	$28,118	1,653
Offices of other health practitioners	736	8.5	1.39×More than typical	4,339	$52,436	3,148
Offices of physicians	730	8.4	1.30×More than typical	10,129	$112,591	1,353
Full-service restaurants	699	8	1.05×About typical	15,609	$25,850	97
Limited-service restaurants	688	7.9	0.99×About typical	9,093	$21,345	144

Rank places for an industry Open Montgomery County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 870,108 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $19M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania: $2,959 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $19M; −57% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2,959; US $1,994
Sole-source: 5.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 64%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Navy$10.9M57%
Environmental Protection Agency$1.9M10%
Food and Drug Administration$1.9M10.0%
Federal Emergency Management Agency$1.4M7.1%
National Institutes of Health$957.4K5.0%
Offices, Boards and Divisions$490.9K2.6%
National Park Service$377.4K2.0%
Defense Logistics Agency$278.5K1.5%

Top recipients

AMERICAN PETROLEUM TANKERS LLC$11M58%
WSP USA ENVIRONMENT & INFRASTRUCTURE INC.$4M21%
SOURCE HEALTHCARE ANALYTICS LLC$1.9M10%
ICON GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH SOLUTIONS, INC.$942K5.0%
CAPITAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT, INC.$788.7K4.1%

Spending by fiscal year

4.5MFY2017
16.3MFY2018
13.2MFY2019
34.6MFY2020
40.7MFY2021
33.4MFY2022
39.5MFY2023
38.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Deep sea, coastal, and Great Lakes water transportation · 4831$11M58%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$4M21%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$2M10%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$942K5.0%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$470.3K2.5%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, so they do not add up across cities.

Blue Bell, Pennsylvania's figures are part of those of Montgomery County, PA ($6.3B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.3% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Blue Bell is mostly in Montgomery County.

See federal money in Montgomery County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Blue Bell, Pennsylvania is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Montgomery County92100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD73

Other cities and towns in Montgomery County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/4207224

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends