Borough · Armstrong County, Pennsylvania

Rural Valley, Pennsylvania

Rural Valley is a borough in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, part of the Pittsburgh, PA metro area. It has 1,019 residents. Rural Valley, Pennsylvania has a quality-of-life score of 44 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #8,756 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Pennsylvania it ranks #820 of 997 cities and towns. It ranks best on social associations (high), rent-burdened households (low) and drought exposure (low). It ranks worst on unemployment rate (high), gyms and fitness centers (low) and public EV charging ports (low).

44Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #8,756 of 15,651 cities and towns
Pennsylvania: #820 of 997 in PA
Population: 1,019 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 482.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 4266720

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.

Safety71#4,600/15,637
Economy26#11,519/15,631
Housing84#2,344/14,977
Health29#11,140/15,609
Healthcare39#9,527/15,650
Environment23#11,961/15,453
Education63#5,818/15,649
Infrastructure27#11,389/15,650
Community81#2,960/15,651
Leisure & amenities19#12,650/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Social associations · high19.5 /10k
98/100Pennsylvania 11.9 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteArmstrong County value
Rent-burdened households · low31.0%
95/100Pennsylvania 48.2%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Drought exposure · low0%
94/100Pennsylvania 26%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAArmstrong County value
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100Pennsylvania 1.0United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationArmstrong County value
Violent crime rate · low88 /100k
89/100Pennsylvania 227 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationCovers part of the area: some reporting agencies or member counties have no figureArmstrong County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.1×
89/100Pennsylvania 3.3×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077

Weaknesses

Unemployment rate · high12.3%
5/100Pennsylvania 4.3%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty
Gyms and fitness centers · low0.2 /10k
8/100Pennsylvania 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsArmstrong County value
Public EV charging ports · low0.8 /10k
9/100Pennsylvania 4.5 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyArmstrong County value
Natural hazard risk · high89.9
10/100Pennsylvania 22.42025Federal Emergency Management AgencyArmstrong County value
New homes permitted · low0.0 /1k
13/100Pennsylvania 2.0 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Arts, entertainment and recreation · low2.2 /10k
14/100Pennsylvania 4.6 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsArmstrong County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
923 (2015-2019) → 1,019 (2020-2024)
+10%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.1% (2015-2019) → 93.9% (2020-2024)
+16 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
22.3% (2015-2019) → 14.7% (2020-2024)
−7.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Median household incomeImproving
$51,042 (2015-2019) → $68,512 (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
89.2% (2015-2019) → 95.8% (2020-2024)
+6.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Improving
7.9% (2015-2019) → 4.5% (2020-2024)
−3.3 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, Rural Valley, Pennsylvania improved on 2 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 9 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.

Improved2

Rent / income−7.6 points22.3% → 14.7%
Household income+34%$51,042 → $68,512

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Rural Valley, Pennsylvania between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	34.2 min2015-2019	29.9 min2020-2024	−4.3 min	Within the margin of error	87%
Bachelor's degree or higher	16.6%2015-2019	19.1%2020-2024	+2.5 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Broadband subscriptions	78.1%2015-2019	93.9%2020-2024	+16 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Effective property tax rate	1.84%2015-2019	1.43%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Within the margin of error	85%
High school diploma or higher	89.2%2015-2019	95.8%2020-2024	+6.6 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Home price to income ratio	1.9×2015-2019	2.1×2020-2024	+0.2×	Within the margin of error	66%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3922015-2019	0.3692020-2024	−0.023	Within the margin of error	70%
Median household income	$51,0422015-2019	$68,5122020-2024	+34%	Improved	64%
Poverty rate	10.4%2015-2019	9.9%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Rent as share of income	22.3%2015-2019	14.7%2020-2024	−7.6 points	Improved	89%
Rent-burdened households	28.0%2015-2019	31.0%2020-2024	+3 points	Within the margin of error	45%

“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 Rural Valley, Pennsylvania five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Rural Valley, 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, Rural Valley, Pennsylvania itself moved +10.1 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

1,019 residents (±196)

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

407 households (±78)

Rural Valley, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Under $25k17%†69
$25k–50k13%†51
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

407 households (±78)

Rural Valley, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Own69%280
Rent31%†127

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

434 workers (±98)

Rural Valley, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Drive alone86%374
Carpool8.8%†38
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 Pittsburgh, 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 Armstrong County, the county holding most of Rural Valley's residents.

Armstrong County has 1,288 employer establishments, 201 for every 10,000 residents (0.81× the US rate of 248; 0.85× Pennsylvania's), with 14,258 paid employees at an average annual pay of $44,995. The Census Bureau also counts 3,529 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,288; 3,529 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 201; US 248 · Pennsylvania 236
Paid employees: 14,258
Average annual pay: $44,995; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	97	15.1	0.73×Fewer than typical	1,087	$57,877	114
Religious organizations	91	14.2	2.56×More than typical	363	$15,047	—
Specialty trade contractors	91	14.2	0.92×About typical	607	$56,463	400
Restaurants and other eating places	86	13.4	0.73×Fewer than typical	1,192	$13,320	15
Full-service restaurants	43	6.7	0.87×About typical	584	$14,336	4
Building equipment contractors	39	6.1	1.01×About typical	360	$50,808	73
Truck transportation	39	6.1	1.20×About typical	420	$53,617	88
Automotive repair and maintenance	35	5.5	1.08×About typical	183	$36,311	99
Banks and credit unions	35	5.5	1.69×More than typical	341	$61,205	—
Offices of physicians	33	5.1	0.79×Fewer than typical	234	$94,103	14
Limited-service restaurants	32	5	0.62×Fewer than typical	514	$12,397	6
Lessors of real estate	30	4.7	0.38×Fewer than typical	74	$44,149	257

Rank places for an industry Open Armstrong County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 64,157 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: Rural Valley is mostly in Armstrong County.

See federal money in Armstrong 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.

Rural Valley, 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.

Armstrong County57100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Pittsburgh, PA84

Other cities and towns in Armstrong 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/4266720

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends