Borough · Delaware County, Pennsylvania

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

Swarthmore is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, part of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area. It has 6,550 residents. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania has a quality-of-life score of 88 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,826 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Pennsylvania it ranks #110 of 997 cities and towns. It ranks best on bachelor's degree or higher (high), distance to an airport (low) and distance to an emergency room (low). It ranks worst on time spent in the emergency room (high), effective property tax rate (high) and child care cost burden (high).

88Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,826 of 15,651 cities and towns
Pennsylvania: #110 of 997 in PA
Population: 6,550 (2020-2024)
Land area: 1 mi²
Density: 4,678.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 4275648

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.

Safety55#6,957/15,637
Economy68#5,032/15,631
Housing51#7,329/14,977
Health85#2,411/15,609
Healthcare94#931/15,650
Environment44#8,643/15,453
Education90#1,584/15,649
Infrastructure97#530/15,650
Community92#1,196/15,651
Leisure & amenities59#6,378/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Bachelor's degree or higher · high81.5%
99/100Pennsylvania 35.2%United States 35.7%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Distance to an airport · low8 mi
98/100Pennsylvania 36 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauDelaware County value
Distance to an emergency room · low2.7 mi
97/100Pennsylvania 5.0 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesDelaware County value
Poor or fair health · low10.4%
97/100Pennsylvania 17.0%United States 19.9%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Poverty rate · low1.8%
97/100Pennsylvania 11.6%United States 12.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001High uncertainty
Public transit commuters · high7.9%
96/100Pennsylvania 3.6%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301

Weaknesses

Time spent in the emergency room · high248 min
3/100Pennsylvania 191 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesDelaware County value
Effective property tax rate · high2.16%
5/100Pennsylvania 1.25%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Child care cost burden · high39.2%
11/100Pennsylvania 34.6%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteDelaware County value
New homes permitted · low0.0 /1k
13/100Pennsylvania 2.0 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.481
17/100Pennsylvania 0.474United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Unemployment rate · high7.7%
18/100Pennsylvania 4.3%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025High uncertainty

Trends

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

New homes permittedWorsening
0.2 /1k (2021) → 0.0 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−100%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
50.5% (2015-2019) → 32.4% (2020-2024)
−18 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$107,778 (2015-2019) → $152,361 (2020-2024)
+41%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeImproving
30.3% (2015-2019) → 22.7% (2020-2024)
−7.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
91.7% (2015-2019) → 97.1% (2020-2024)
+5.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Public transit commutersWorsening
13.2% (2015-2019) → 7.9% (2020-2024)
−5.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%

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, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania improved on 0 of 11 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 11 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.

Improved0

No measure improved by more than its margin of error.

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 11 measures

Change of every measure of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	24.5 min2015-2019	26.3 min2020-2024	+1.8 min	Within the margin of error	29%
Bachelor's degree or higher	78.5%2015-2019	81.5%2020-2024	+3 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Broadband subscriptions	91.7%2015-2019	97.1%2020-2024	+5.4 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Effective property tax rate	2.50%2015-2019	2.16%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	79%
High school diploma or higher	99.2%2015-2019	99.1%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Home price to income ratio	3.9×2015-2019	4.2×2020-2024	+0.3×	Within the margin of error	61%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.5092015-2019	0.4812020-2024	−0.027	Within the margin of error	72%
Median household income	$107,7782015-2019	$152,3612020-2024	+41%	Within the margin of error	76%
Public transit commuters	13.2%2015-2019	7.9%2020-2024	−5.3 points	Within the margin of error	6%
Rent as share of income	30.3%2015-2019	22.7%2020-2024	−7.6 points	Within the margin of error	89%
Rent-burdened households	50.5%2015-2019	32.4%2020-2024	−18 points	Within the margin of error	92%

“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 Swarthmore, Pennsylvania five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Swarthmore, 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, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania itself moved +10.7 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

6,550 residents (±23)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†
50–59†
40–49†
30–39†
20–29
10–19
Under 10†

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 20–29 men (+4.6 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

6,550 residents (±23)

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

White70%4,582
Black10%†657
Hispanic or Latino6.8%†443

Education

3,390 residents (±169)

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

No high school diploma0.9%†30
High school or GED5.4%†183
Some college7.3%

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

2,067 households (±162)

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Under $25k6.9%†143
$25k–50k11%†218
$50k–75k11%†228
$75k–100k4.9%†101
$100k–150k15%†301
$150k–200k6.9%†143
$200k or more45%933

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $200k or more (+21.0 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

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

Owners and renters

2,067 households (±162)

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Own76%1,571
Rent24%496

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

460 households (±128)

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Under $7503.7%†17
$750–1,00013%†62
$1,000–1,50030%†

Home values

1,571 homes (±180)

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Under $150k9.2%†144
$150k–250k9.4%†148
$250k–400k6.1%†

Age of homes

2,163 homes (±177)

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

2010 or later1.4%†30
2000–20092.6%†56
1980–19994.6%†

Size of homes

2,163 homes (±177)

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Studio0.5%†11
1 bedroom11%†234
2 bedrooms25%†537

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

2,846 workers (±202)

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Drive alone42%1,193
Carpool4.0%†115
Public transit7.9%†224
Walk24%697
Bike0.6%†17
Work from home21%†600
Other0.0%0

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Drive alone (−14.9 points).

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

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

2,246 workers (±229)

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Under 15 min37%837
15–29 min16%†359
30–44 min33%738

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

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 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

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 Delaware County, the county holding most of Swarthmore's residents.

Delaware County has 13,165 employer establishments, 227 for every 10,000 residents (0.92× the US rate of 248; 0.96× Pennsylvania's), with 237,233 paid employees at an average annual pay of $65,310. The Census Bureau also counts 50,531 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 13,165; 50,531 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 227; US 248 · Pennsylvania 236
Paid employees: 237,233
Average annual pay: $65,310; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	1,139	19.7	0.94×About typical	17,460	$69,306	3,697
Specialty trade contractors	944	16.3	1.05×About typical	9,123	$78,117	2,656
Restaurants and other eating places	932	16.1	0.88×About typical	15,951	$21,419	272
Lessors of real estate	470	8.1	0.66×Fewer than typical	2,534	$91,606	5,378
Construction of buildings	463	8	1.06×About typical	2,451	$78,490	1,076
Limited-service restaurants	461	8	0.99×About typical	6,459	$19,053	146
Services to buildings and dwellings	452	7.8	1.16×About typical	6,386	$41,186	2,068
Building equipment contractors	444	7.7	1.27×More than typical	4,322	$88,910	583
Personal care services	400	6.9	1.45×More than typical	2,667	$27,019	1,732
Management, scientific and technical consulting	356	6.1	0.92×About typical	2,293	$98,232	2,359
Full-service restaurants	347	6	0.78×Fewer than typical	7,955	$23,965	88
Automotive repair and maintenance	340	5.9	1.17×About typical	1,745	$51,966	324

Rank places for an industry Open Delaware County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 579,086 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 $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania: $0 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,995
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

Spending by fiscal year

29.1KFY2017
15.1KFY2018
11.3KFY2019
-191.7FY2021
281KFY2022

What was bought

Part of this section could not be loaded in time.

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 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 Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, so they do not add up across cities.

Swarthmore, Pennsylvania's figures are part of those of Delaware County, PA ($2.4B 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: Swarthmore is mostly in Delaware County.

See federal money in Delaware 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.

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

House

Mary Gay ScanlonD-PA-5 · 100% of residentsWith party 100%Missed 1.5%

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.

Delaware County81100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD73

Other cities and towns in Delaware 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

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