Census-designated place · Centre County, Pennsylvania

Houserville, Pennsylvania

Houserville is a census-designated place in Centre County, Pennsylvania, part of the State College, PA metro area. It has 2,000 residents. Houserville, Pennsylvania has a quality-of-life score of 91 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,343 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Pennsylvania it ranks #65 of 997 cities and towns. It ranks best on natural hazard risk (low), mammography screening (high) and math scores (high). It ranks worst on new business applications (low), child care cost burden (high) and pharmacies (low).

91Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,343 of 15,651 cities and towns
Pennsylvania: #65 of 997 in PA
Population: 2,000 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 1,827.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 4235888

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.

Safety85#2,365/15,637
Economy78#3,369/15,631
Housing47#7,939/14,977
Health93#1,021/15,609
Healthcare82#2,828/15,650
Environment81#2,870/15,453
Education100#56/15,649
Infrastructure79#3,324/15,650
Community61#6,175/15,651
Leisure & amenities52#7,446/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Natural hazard risk · low1.3
99/100Pennsylvania 22.42025Federal Emergency Management AgencyCentre County value
Mammography screening · high61.0%
99/100Pennsylvania 51.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCentre County value
Math scores · high3.59
98/100Pennsylvania 3.12United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCentre County value
Hospital quality rating · high5.0
98/100Pennsylvania 3.5United States 3.2Jul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCentre County value
Flu vaccinations · high56.0%
96/100Pennsylvania 52.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCentre County value
Injury deaths · low47 /100k
96/100Pennsylvania 98 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCentre County value

Weaknesses

New business applications · low7.5 /1k
4/100Pennsylvania 12.4 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauCentre County value
Child care cost burden · high42.4%
4/100Pennsylvania 34.6%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCentre County value
Pharmacies · low0.8 /10k
9/100Pennsylvania 1.9 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCentre County value
Comfortable days · low23.3%
11/100Pennsylvania 23.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCentre County value
Dental care shortage · high17.0
12/100Pennsylvania 4.8United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationCentre County value
Distance to an airport · high72 mi
22/100Pennsylvania 36 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauCentre County value

Trends

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

Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
28.2% (2015-2019) → 72.6% (2020-2024)
+44 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
22.8% (2015-2019) → 36.3% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$90,750 (2015-2019) → $119,303 (2020-2024)
+31%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.5× (2015-2019) → 3.2× (2020-2024)
+28%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
69.5% (2015-2019) → 64.8% (2020-2024)
−4.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Unemployment rateImproving
4.9% (2015-2019) → 0.4% (2020-2024)
−4.4 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, Houserville, Pennsylvania improved on 1 of 9 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 6 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+31%$90,750 → $119,303

Declined2

Rent / income+13 points22.8% → 36.3%
Price / income+0.7×2.5× → 3.2×

All 9 measures

Change of every measure of Houserville, Pennsylvania between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	17.5 min2015-2019	18.3 min2020-2024	+0.8 min	Within the margin of error	38%
Bachelor's degree or higher	69.5%2015-2019	64.8%2020-2024	−4.6 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Broadband subscriptions	94.9%2015-2019	98.2%2020-2024	+3.3 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Effective property tax rate	1.35%2015-2019	1.10%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	67%
High school diploma or higher	99.2%2015-2019	97.1%2020-2024	−2.1 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	37%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4042015-2019	0.3962020-2024	−0.008	Within the margin of error	58%
Median household income	$90,7502015-2019	$119,3032020-2024	+31%	Improved	58%
Rent as share of income	22.8%2015-2019	36.3%2020-2024	+13 points	Declined	6%

“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 Houserville, Pennsylvania five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Houserville, 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, Houserville, Pennsylvania itself moved −9.8 points in standing on average over the same 9 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

2,000 residents (±300)

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

892 households (±152)

Houserville, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Under $25k5.0%†45
$25k–50k12%†110
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

892 households (±152)

Houserville, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Own88%786
Rent12%†106

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

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

1,105 workers (±216)

Houserville, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Drive alone68%752
Carpool9.5%†105
Public transit0.0%0

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 State College, 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 Centre County, the county holding most of Houserville's residents.

Centre County has 3,344 employer establishments, 211 for every 10,000 residents (0.85× the US rate of 248; 0.89× Pennsylvania's), with 44,569 paid employees at an average annual pay of $48,847. The Census Bureau also counts 10,575 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,344; 10,575 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 211; US 248 · Pennsylvania 236
Paid employees: 44,569
Average annual pay: $48,847; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	274	17.3	0.83×About typical	3,228	$67,423	438
Restaurants and other eating places	263	16.6	0.90×About typical	5,374	$19,777	43
Specialty trade contractors	155	9.8	0.63×Fewer than typical	1,269	$59,212	649
Lessors of real estate	136	8.6	0.70×Fewer than typical	686	$54,730	1,168
Construction of buildings	125	7.9	1.04×About typical	834	$60,254	341
Religious organizations	119	7.5	1.35×More than typical	783	$24,907	—
Limited-service restaurants	116	7.3	0.91×About typical	2,131	$16,604	23
Full-service restaurants	105	6.6	0.86×About typical	2,586	$23,746	16
Services to buildings and dwellings	101	6.4	0.94×About typical	763	$39,201	434
Offices of other health practitioners	92	5.8	0.95×About typical	498	$45,869	270
Management, scientific and technical consulting	86	5.4	0.81×About typical	226	$61,748	634
Architectural, engineering and related services	76	4.8	1.37×More than typical	691	$81,401	117

Rank places for an industry Open Centre County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 158,739 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 $71.8K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Houserville, Pennsylvania: $35.90 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $71.8K; +0.6% vs FY2025
Per resident: $35.90; US $1,994
Sole-source: 19%; US 30%
Single offer: 1.7%; 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

Departmental Offices$35.2K49%
National Aeronautics and Space Administration$12.9K18%
Department of the Army$12.9K18%
Department of the Navy$9,29613%
Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency$8741.2%
Federal Bureau of Investigation$5730.8%
Defense Logistics Agency$2170.3%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

158KFY2017
193.5KFY2018
241.1KFY2019
252.4KFY2020
193.6KFY2021
149.2KFY2022
142.1KFY2023
189.9K

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$57.2K80%
Other professional, scientific, and technical services · 5419$9,58013%
Software publishers · 5132$3,3134.6%
Other food manufacturing · 3119$1,0831.5%
Data processing, hosting, and related services · 5182$3240.5%
Services to buildings and dwellings · 5617

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

Houserville, Pennsylvania's figures are part of those of Centre County, PA ($420.9M 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: Houserville is mostly in Centre County.

See federal money in Centre 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.

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

House

Glenn ThompsonR-PA-15 · 100% of residentsWith party 97%Missed 1.2%

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.

Centre County82100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

State College, PA75

Other cities and towns in Centre 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/4235888

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends