Borough · Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania

Hallstead, Pennsylvania

Hallstead is a borough in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. It has 1,217 residents. Hallstead, Pennsylvania has a quality-of-life score of 42 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #9,141 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Pennsylvania it ranks #861 of 997 cities and towns. It ranks best on median Air Quality Index (low), students per teacher (low) and time spent in the emergency room (low). It ranks worst on hospital quality rating (low), unemployment rate (high) and dentists (low).

42Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #9,141 of 15,651 cities and towns
Pennsylvania: #861 of 997 in PA
Population: 1,217 (2020-2024)
Land area: 0 mi²
Density: 2,914.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 4232080

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.

Safety83#2,645/15,637
Economy4#15,017/15,631
Housing56#6,587/14,977
Health41#9,214/15,609
Healthcare23#12,079/15,650
Environment90#1,596/15,453
Education52#7,488/15,649
Infrastructure8#14,364/15,650
Community63#5,750/15,651
Leisure & amenities31#10,798/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Median Air Quality Index · low22
97/100Pennsylvania 432025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySusquehanna County value
Students per teacher · low10.8×
95/100Pennsylvania 13.1×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsSusquehanna County value
Time spent in the emergency room · low107 min
94/100Pennsylvania 191 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSusquehanna County value
Drought exposure · low1%
94/100Pennsylvania 26%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAASusquehanna County value
Homicide rate · low0.0 /100k
94/100Pennsylvania 4.1 /100kUnited States 4.8 /100k2024Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSusquehanna County value
Hot days · low2 days
93/100Pennsylvania 7 daysUnited States 42 days2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSusquehanna County value

Weaknesses

Hospital quality rating · low1.0
1/100Pennsylvania 3.5United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesSusquehanna County value
Unemployment rate · high12.8%
5/100Pennsylvania 4.3%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025
Dentists · low24 /100k
6/100Pennsylvania 73 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSusquehanna County value
Comfortable days · low23.1%
9/100Pennsylvania 23.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationSusquehanna County value
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.3 /10k
10/100Pennsylvania 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSusquehanna County value
Adult smoking · high20.0%
13/100Pennsylvania 15.6%United States 16.1%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate

Trends

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

Child poverty rateImproving
29.4% (2015-2019) → 15.0% (2020-2024)
−14 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
55.9% (2015-2019) → 44.0% (2020-2024)
−12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
72.7% (2015-2019) → 84.1% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Unemployment rateWorsening
3.6% (2015-2019) → 12.8% (2020-2024)
+9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
32.1% (2015-2019) → 24.7% (2020-2024)
−7.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Poverty rateImproving
22.1% (2015-2019) → 15.0% (2020-2024)
−7.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Hallstead, Pennsylvania improved on 1 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 12 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

Broadband+11 points72.7% → 84.1%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Hallstead, Pennsylvania between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.4 min2015-2019	19.6 min2020-2024	−1.9 min	Within the margin of error	70%
Bachelor's degree or higher	15.3%2015-2019	17.5%2020-2024	+2.2 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Broadband subscriptions	72.7%2015-2019	84.1%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	66%
Effective property tax rate	1.38%2015-2019	1.17%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	61%
High school diploma or higher	82.9%2015-2019	89.4%2020-2024	+6.5 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Home price to income ratio	2.4×2015-2019	2.5×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	73%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4712015-2019	0.4782020-2024	+0.007	Within the margin of error	44%
Median household income	$39,7122015-2019	$50,8332020-2024	+28%	Within the margin of error	51%
Poverty rate	22.1%2015-2019	15.0%2020-2024	−7.1 points	Within the margin of error	87%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	32.1%2015-2019	24.7%2020-2024	−7.4 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Rent-burdened households	55.9%2015-2019	44.0%2020-2024	−12 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.5%2015-2019	9.5%2020-2024	−0.9 points	Within the margin of error	58%

“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 Hallstead, Pennsylvania five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Hallstead, 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, Hallstead, Pennsylvania itself moved +12.2 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

1,217 residents (±206)

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

516 households (±77)

Hallstead, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Under $25k25%†128
$25k–50k25%†129
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

516 households (±77)

Hallstead, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Own63%324
Rent37%192

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

467 workers (±95)

Hallstead, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Drive alone78%362
Carpool2.8%†13
Public transit0.0%0

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 Susquehanna County, the county holding most of Hallstead's residents.

Susquehanna County has 855 employer establishments, 224 for every 10,000 residents (0.90× the US rate of 248; 0.95× Pennsylvania's), with 7,461 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,383. The Census Bureau also counts 3,130 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 855; 3,130 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 224; US 248 · Pennsylvania 236
Paid employees: 7,461
Average annual pay: $48,383; US $68,342

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

Specialty trade contractors	58	15.2	0.98×About typical	279	$65,785	364
Restaurants and other eating places	46	12	0.66×Fewer than typical	512	$19,924	12
Ambulatory health care services	38	9.9	0.48×Fewer than typical	240	$40,146	97
Religious organizations	35	9.2	1.65×More than typical	147	$23,143	—
Truck transportation	33	8.6	1.71×More than typical	130	$61,038	86
Automotive repair and maintenance	32	8.4	1.66×More than typical	108	$45,880	103
Construction of buildings	29	7.6	1.00×About typical	71	$42,915	178
Gasoline stations	27	7.1	2.18×More than typical	307	$34,463	—
Other specialty trade contractors	27	7.1	2.82×More than typical	152	$73,197	139
Full-service restaurants	22	5.8	0.75×Fewer than typical	234	$19,534	5
Services to buildings and dwellings	17	4.5	0.66×Fewer than typical	67	$42,373	192
Banks and credit unions	15	3.9	1.22×About typical	143	$47,007	—

Rank places for an industry Open Susquehanna County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 38,197 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

No federal contract obligations recorded here in FY2026.

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

See federal money in Susquehanna 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.

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

House

Daniel MeuserR-PA-9 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 5.2%

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.

Susquehanna County63100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Susquehanna 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/4232080

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends