Borough · Cambria County, Pennsylvania

Dale, Pennsylvania

Dale is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, part of the Johnstown, PA metro area. It has 1,281 residents. Dale, Pennsylvania has a quality-of-life score of 42 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #9,033 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Pennsylvania it ranks #849 of 997 cities and towns. It ranks best on home price to income ratio (low), social associations (high) and uninsured residents (under 65) (low). It ranks worst on adult smoking (high), frequent mental distress (high) and median household income (low).

42Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #9,033 of 15,651 cities and towns
Pennsylvania: #849 of 997 in PA
Population: 1,281 (2020-2024)
Land area: 0 mi²
Density: 7,308.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 4218000

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 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.

Safety39#9,494/15,637
Economy11#13,884/15,631
Housing76#3,651/14,977
Health8#14,343/15,609
Healthcare51#7,679/15,650
Environment65#5,328/15,453
Education48#8,076/15,649
Infrastructure31#10,821/15,650
Community80#3,158/15,651
Leisure & amenities50#7,859/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Dale, Pennsylvania ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Cambria 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

Home price to income ratio · low1.1×
100/100Pennsylvania 3.3×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Social associations · high20.5 /10k
98/100Pennsylvania 11.9 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCambria County value
Uninsured residents (under 65) · low0.7%
98/100Pennsylvania 7.2%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010High uncertainty
Public transit commuters · high10.1%
97/100Pennsylvania 3.6%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301High uncertainty
Hot days · low1 days
96/100Pennsylvania 7 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCambria County value
Natural hazard risk · low3.7
95/100Pennsylvania 22.42025Federal Emergency Management AgencyCambria County value

Weaknesses

Adult smoking · high27.6%
1/100Pennsylvania 15.6%United States 16.1%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Frequent mental distress · high23.3%
2/100Pennsylvania 15.9%United States 18.6%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Median household income · low$37,813
4/100Pennsylvania $77,532United States $81,6042020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19013
Injury deaths · high143 /100k
5/100Pennsylvania 98 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCambria County value
New business applications · low7.8 /1k
6/100Pennsylvania 12.4 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauCambria County value
Poverty rate · high31.2%
6/100Pennsylvania 11.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

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

PopulationRising
1,088 (2015-2019) → 1,281 (2020-2024)
+18%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
67.2% (2015-2019) → 81.6% (2020-2024)
+14 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$24,000 (2015-2019) → $37,813 (2020-2024)
+58%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Child poverty rateImproving
61.2% (2015-2019) → 50.9% (2020-2024)
−10 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
44.7% (2015-2019) → 35.8% (2020-2024)
−8.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Unemployment rateImproving
9.2% (2015-2019) → 1.8% (2020-2024)
−7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%

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, Dale, Pennsylvania improved on 4 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 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.

Improved4

Property tax−1.5 points3.22% → 1.72%
Inequality−0.0920.498 → 0.405
Household income+58%$24,000 → $37,813
Broadband+14 points67.2% → 81.6%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Dale, Pennsylvania between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	18.8 min2015-2019	16.4 min2020-2024	−2.4 min	Within the margin of error	75%
Bachelor's degree or higher	9.5%2015-2019	15.7%2020-2024	+6.2 points	Within the margin of error	75%
Broadband subscriptions	67.2%2015-2019	81.6%2020-2024	+14 points	Improved	78%
Child poverty rate	61.2%2015-2019	50.9%2020-2024	−10 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Effective property tax rate	3.22%2015-2019	1.72%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Improved	100%
High school diploma or higher	84.1%2015-2019	90.5%2020-2024	+6.4 points	Within the margin of error	87%
Home price to income ratio	1.3×2015-2019	1.1×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	86%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4982015-2019	0.4052020-2024	−0.092	Improved	95%
Median household income	$24,0002015-2019	$37,8132020-2024	+58%	Improved	89%
Poverty rate	35.8%2015-2019	31.2%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	79%
Rent as share of income	29.0%2015-2019	26.3%2020-2024	−2.7 points	Within the margin of error	73%
Rent-burdened households	44.7%2015-2019	35.8%2020-2024	−8.9 points	Within the margin of error	80%

“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 Dale, Pennsylvania five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Dale, 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, Dale, Pennsylvania itself moved +15.2 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

1,281 residents (±222)

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

577 households (±98)

Dale, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Under $25k37%†213
$25k–50k23%†133
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

577 households (±98)

Dale, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Own41%239
Rent59%338

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

504 workers (±125)

Dale, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Drive alone59%297
Carpool16%†81
Public transit10%†

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 Johnstown, PA

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 Cambria County, the county holding most of Dale's residents.

Cambria County has 2,996 employer establishments, 229 for every 10,000 residents (0.92× the US rate of 248; 0.97× Pennsylvania's), with 43,601 paid employees at an average annual pay of $43,966. The Census Bureau also counts 6,556 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,996; 6,556 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 229; US 248 · Pennsylvania 236
Paid employees: 43,601
Average annual pay: $43,966; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	257	19.7	0.94×About typical	3,460	$67,835	338
Restaurants and other eating places	189	14.5	0.79×Fewer than typical	3,169	$15,152	32
Religious organizations	155	11.9	2.14×More than typical	736	$15,245	—
Specialty trade contractors	140	10.7	0.69×Fewer than typical	1,013	$77,396	497
Banks and credit unions	93	7.1	2.20×More than typical	847	$52,438	—
Offices of other health practitioners	89	6.8	1.12×About typical	774	$40,425	149
Automotive repair and maintenance	87	6.7	1.32×More than typical	360	$40,342	148
Full-service restaurants	87	6.7	0.87×About typical	1,725	$14,896	20
Limited-service restaurants	86	6.6	0.82×About typical	1,286	$15,375	12
Civic and social organizations	73	5.6	7.62×More than typical	451	$10,470	—
Offices of physicians	70	5.4	0.83×About typical	1,348	$104,346	70
Truck transportation	66	5.1	1.00×About typical	647	$60,241	126

Rank places for an industry Open Cambria County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 130,590 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 $38.8K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Dale, Pennsylvania: $30.31 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $38.8K; +15% vs FY2025
Per resident: $30.31; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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 Army$38.6K99%
Offices, Boards and Divisions$2540.7%

Top recipients

STAMPEDE VENTURES, INC.$27.1K70%
I-2-I SOLUTIONS, INC.$11.5K29%
PRINCIPLE COURT REPORTING SERVICES$2540.7%
AMERICAN MATERIAL HANDLING, INC.$00.0%

Spending by fiscal year

12.6KFY2017
1.7KFY2018
5.1KFY2019
14.9KFY2020
22.9KFY2021
44.3KFY2022
47.7KFY2023
47.5KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Facilities support services · 5612$27.1K70%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617$11.5K29%
Business support services · 5614$2540.7%

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 Dale, Pennsylvania, so they do not add up across cities.

Dale, Pennsylvania's figures are part of those of Cambria County, PA ($237.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

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

See federal money in Cambria 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.

Dale, Pennsylvania is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

John JoyceR-PA-13 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 0.1%

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.

Cambria County64100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Johnstown, PA56

Other cities and towns in Cambria 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/4218000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends