City · Northumberland County, Pennsylvania

Sunbury, Pennsylvania

Sunbury is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, part of the Sunbury, PA metro area. It has 9,617 residents. Sunbury, Pennsylvania has a quality-of-life score of 30 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,927 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Pennsylvania it ranks #958 of 997 cities and towns. It ranks best on mammography screening (high), social associations (high) and mental health care shortage (low). It ranks worst on adult smoking (high), new business applications (low) and bachelor's degree or higher (low).

30Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,927 of 15,651 cities and towns
Pennsylvania: #958 of 997 in PA
Population: 9,617 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 4,792.6 /mi²
FIPS code: 4275304

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 69 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.

Safety81#2,905/15,637
Economy9#14,212/15,631
Housing71#4,399/14,977
Health20#12,438/15,609
Healthcare35#10,124/15,650
Environment43#8,843/15,453
Education32#10,665/15,649
Infrastructure10#14,142/15,650
Community60#6,235/15,651
Leisure & amenities24#11,871/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Mammography screening · high58.0%
97/100Pennsylvania 51.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNorthumberland County value
Social associations · high15.8 /10k
93/100Pennsylvania 11.9 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNorthumberland County value
Mental health care shortage · low0.0
91/100Pennsylvania 1.0United States 9.9Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationNorthumberland County value
Home price to income ratio · low2.1×
90/100Pennsylvania 3.3×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100Pennsylvania 1.0United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationNorthumberland County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Pennsylvania 1United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNorthumberland County value

Weaknesses

Adult smoking · high23.6%
3/100Pennsylvania 15.6%United States 16.1%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
New business applications · low7.8 /1k
6/100Pennsylvania 12.4 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauNorthumberland County value
Bachelor's degree or higher · low11.6%
9/100Pennsylvania 35.2%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Mental health providers · low70 /100k
9/100Pennsylvania 308 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteNorthumberland County value
Broadband subscriptions · low83.3%
10/100Pennsylvania 89.7%United States 91.0%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B28002
Frequent mental distress · high21.1%
11/100Pennsylvania 15.9%United States 18.6%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.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
67.9% (2015-2019) → 83.3% (2020-2024)
+15 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$34,644 (2015-2019) → $51,028 (2020-2024)
+47%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
High school diploma or higherImproving
84.2% (2015-2019) → 88.8% (2020-2024)
+4.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Uninsured residents (under 65)Worsening
3.7% (2015-2019) → 8.2% (2020-2024)
+4.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B27010US 10.8% → 9.8%
Average commute timeWorsening
19.2 min (2015-2019) → 23.2 min (2020-2024)
+21%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
39.5% (2015-2019) → 42.5% (2020-2024)
+3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

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, Sunbury, Pennsylvania improved on 2 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 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

Household income+47%$34,644 → $51,028
Broadband+15 points67.9% → 83.3%

Declined1

Uninsured+4.5 points3.7% → 8.2%

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Sunbury, Pennsylvania between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	19.2 min2015-2019	23.2 min2020-2024	+4.0 min	Within the margin of error	14%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.5%2015-2019	11.6%2020-2024	+1.1 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Broadband subscriptions	67.9%2015-2019	83.3%2020-2024	+15 points	Improved	81%
Child poverty rate	25.5%2015-2019	23.2%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	57%
Effective property tax rate	1.81%2015-2019	1.49%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	77%
High school diploma or higher	84.2%2015-2019	88.8%2020-2024	+4.6 points	Within the margin of error	80%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	2.1×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	88%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4502015-2019	0.4542020-2024	+0.005	Within the margin of error	46%
Median household income	$34,6442015-2019	$51,0282020-2024	+47%	Improved	82%
Poverty rate	18.9%2015-2019	18.7%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	46%
Rent as share of income	26.8%2015-2019	27.2%2020-2024	+0.4 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Rent-burdened households	39.5%2015-2019	42.5%2020-2024	+3 points	Within the margin of error	45%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	3.7%2015-2019	8.2%2020-2024	+4.5 points	Declined	12%

“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 Sunbury, Pennsylvania five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Sunbury, 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, Sunbury, Pennsylvania itself moved +0.9 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

9,617 residents (±46)

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

4,357 households (±279)

Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Under $25k29%1,250
$25k–50k20%880
$50k–75k20%875

Homes

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

Owners and renters

4,357 households (±279)

Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Own57%2,475
Rent43%1,882

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+15.2 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

4,445 workers (±415)

Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Drive alone74%3,286
Carpool12%†544
Public transit0.2%†

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 Sunbury, 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 Northumberland County, the county holding most of Sunbury's residents.

Northumberland County has 1,611 employer establishments, 179 for every 10,000 residents (0.72× the US rate of 248; 0.76× Pennsylvania's), with 23,047 paid employees at an average annual pay of $49,585. The Census Bureau also counts 5,069 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 1,611; 5,069 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 179; US 248 · Pennsylvania 236
Paid employees: 23,047
Average annual pay: $49,585; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	128	14.2	0.68×Fewer than typical	1,001	$65,211	129
Restaurants and other eating places	121	13.4	0.73×Fewer than typical	1,316	$16,862	29
Religious organizations	103	11.4	2.06×More than typical	370	$16,568	—
Specialty trade contractors	97	10.8	0.70×Fewer than typical	604	$55,197	448
Full-service restaurants	63	7	0.91×About typical	700	$15,914	8
Truck transportation	61	6.8	1.34×More than typical	1,091	$62,357	167
Offices of physicians	51	5.7	0.87×About typical	378	$91,302	14
Limited-service restaurants	50	5.5	0.69×Fewer than typical	546	$16,811	17
Construction of buildings	49	5.4	0.72×Fewer than typical	366	$59,511	208
Automotive repair and maintenance	48	5.3	1.06×About typical	163	$41,730	98
Offices of other health practitioners	38	4.2	0.69×Fewer than typical	175	$42,377	61
Building equipment contractors	37	4.1	0.68×Fewer than typical	300	$48,607	67

Rank places for an industry Open Northumberland County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 90,139 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 -$45.52 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Sunbury, Pennsylvania: -$0.00 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: -$45.52; −100% vs FY2025
Per resident: -$0.00; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; 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

Top recipients

WIREROPE WORKS, INC.-$45.520.0%

Spending by fiscal year

14.4KFY2017
17.1KFY2018
12.8KFY2019
27.3KFY2020
79.4KFY2021
776.6FY2022
188.9KFY2023
0FY2024
16.8K

What was bought

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

Sunbury, Pennsylvania's figures are part of those of Northumberland County, PA ($8.7M 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: Sunbury is mostly in Northumberland County.

See federal money in Northumberland 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.

Sunbury, 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.

Northumberland County53100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Sunbury, PA57

Other cities and towns in Northumberland 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/4275304

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends