Borough · Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Trappe, Pennsylvania

Trappe is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, part of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area. It has 4,025 residents. Trappe, Pennsylvania has a quality-of-life score of 92 out of 100 (very high), ranking #1,195 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Pennsylvania it ranks #54 of 997 cities and towns. It ranks best on flu vaccinations (high), gyms and fitness centers (high) and voter turnout (high). It ranks worst on time spent in the emergency room (high), child care cost burden (high) and comfortable days (low).

92Very high

Quality-of-life score: #1,195 of 15,651 cities and towns
Pennsylvania: #54 of 997 in PA
Population: 4,025 (2020-2024)
Land area: 2 mi²
Density: 1,953.0 /mi²
FIPS code: 4277304

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.

Safety86#2,194/15,637
Economy90#1,500/15,631
Housing39#9,079/14,977
Health92#1,278/15,609
Healthcare98#284/15,650
Environment37#9,752/15,453
Education98#286/15,649
Infrastructure59#6,454/15,650
Community98#276/15,651
Leisure & amenities77#3,642/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

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

Flu vaccinations · high61.0%
99/100Pennsylvania 52.0%United States 44.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value
Gyms and fitness centers · high2.5 /10k
97/100Pennsylvania 1.3 /10kUnited States 1.3 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsMontgomery County value
Voter turnout · high81.0%
97/100Pennsylvania 71.0%United States 65.2%2024U.S. Election Assistance CommissionMontgomery County value
Primary care physicians · high132 /100k
96/100Pennsylvania 80 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value
Distance to an emergency room · low2.8 mi
96/100Pennsylvania 5.0 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMontgomery County value
Reading scores · high3.41
95/100Pennsylvania 3.10United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value

Weaknesses

Time spent in the emergency room · high238 min
6/100Pennsylvania 191 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesMontgomery County value
Child care cost burden · high37.9%
14/100Pennsylvania 34.6%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteMontgomery County value
Comfortable days · low23.8%
20/100Pennsylvania 23.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationMontgomery County value
Effective property tax rate · high1.43%
25/100Pennsylvania 1.25%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high8.5 µg/m³
28/100Pennsylvania 8.3 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyMontgomery County value
New homes permitted · low0.3 /1k
31/100Pennsylvania 2.0 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data

Trends

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

PopulationRising
3,610 (2015-2019) → 4,025 (2020-2024)
+11%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
41.4% (2015-2019) → 61.4% (2020-2024)
+20 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
New homes permittedWorsening
1.0 /1k (2021) → 0.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−75%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
48.7% (2015-2019) → 62.2% (2020-2024)
+13 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$91,667 (2015-2019) → $127,250 (2020-2024)
+39%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
24.5% (2015-2019) → 31.7% (2020-2024)
+7.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

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, Trappe, Pennsylvania improved on 1 of 10 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 8 moved within the margin of error and 1 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

Bachelor's++20 points41.4% → 61.4%

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 10 measures

Change of every measure of Trappe, Pennsylvania between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	30.8 min2015-2019	26.7 min2020-2024	−4.1 min	Within the margin of error	86%
Bachelor's degree or higher	41.4%2015-2019	61.4%2020-2024	+20 points	Improved	99%
Broadband subscriptions	93.7%2015-2019	92.2%2020-2024	−1.5 points	Within the margin of error	5%
Effective property tax rate	1.81%2015-2019	1.43%2020-2024	−0.4 points	Little change	83%
High school diploma or higher	95.6%2015-2019	99.1%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Within the margin of error	72%
Home price to income ratio	2.8×2015-2019	3.3×2020-2024	+0.4×	Within the margin of error	51%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3972015-2019	0.4152020-2024	+0.017	Within the margin of error	36%
Median household income	$91,6672015-2019	$127,2502020-2024	+39%	Within the margin of error	72%
Rent as share of income	24.5%2015-2019	31.7%2020-2024	+7.2 points	Within the margin of error	15%
Rent-burdened households	48.7%2015-2019	62.2%2020-2024	+13 points	Within the margin of error	17%

“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 Trappe, Pennsylvania five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Trappe, 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, Trappe, Pennsylvania itself moved −6.5 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

4,025 residents (±19)

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

1,650 households (±145)

Trappe, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Under $25k11%†177
$25k–50k6.5%†107
$50k–75k

Homes

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

Owners and renters

1,650 households (±145)

Trappe, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Own77%1,274
Rent23%†376

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

2,564 workers (±242)

Trappe, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania share

Drive alone68%1,751
Carpool6.2%†159
Public transit0.3%†8

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 Montgomery County, the county holding most of Trappe's residents.

Montgomery County has 26,711 employer establishments, 307 for every 10,000 residents (1.24× the US rate of 248; 1.30× Pennsylvania's), with 559,196 paid employees at an average annual pay of $82,456. The Census Bureau also counts 81,134 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 26,711; 81,134 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 307; US 248 · Pennsylvania 236
Paid employees: 559,196
Average annual pay: $82,456; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	2,452	28.2	1.35×More than typical	36,718	$69,957	5,842
Restaurants and other eating places	1,653	19	1.03×About typical	27,857	$23,424	291
Specialty trade contractors	1,559	17.9	1.16×About typical	15,959	$87,794	4,209
Lessors of real estate	1,079	12.4	1.01×About typical	6,494	$88,760	11,704
Services to buildings and dwellings	866	10	1.48×More than typical	14,022	$39,321	2,649
Management, scientific and technical consulting	815	9.4	1.40×More than typical	9,944	$107,520	4,788
Construction of buildings	805	9.3	1.22×About typical	6,554	$106,557	1,783
Personal care services	792	9.1	1.91×More than typical	4,707	$28,118	1,653
Offices of other health practitioners	736	8.5	1.39×More than typical	4,339	$52,436	3,148
Offices of physicians	730	8.4	1.30×More than typical	10,129	$112,591	1,353
Full-service restaurants	699	8	1.05×About typical	15,609	$25,850	97
Limited-service restaurants	688	7.9	0.99×About typical	9,093	$21,345	144

Rank places for an industry Open Montgomery County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 870,108 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 $400.3K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Trappe, Pennsylvania: $99.46 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $400.3K; +12% vs FY2025
Per resident: $99.46; US $1,994
Sole-source: 24%; US 30%
Single offer: 18%; 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

Defense Logistics Agency$108.3K27%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$42.7K11%
Department of the Air Force$34.6K8.6%
Department of the Army$34.1K8.5%
Departmental Offices$33.7K8.4%
Department of Veterans Affairs$29.7K7.4%
Federal Aviation Administration$22.4K5.6%
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management$21.9K5.5%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

561.8KFY2017
623.9KFY2018
528.2KFY2019
375.5KFY2020
475KFY2021
1.4MFY2022
248.4KFY2023
742.2K

Top industries (NAICS)

Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$83.5K21%
Dairy product manufacturing · 3115$45.8K11%
Other ambulatory health care services · 6219$36.9K9.2%
Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing · 3341$31.6K7.9%
Communications equipment manufacturing · 3342$30.9K7.7%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$28.1K

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

Trappe, Pennsylvania's figures are part of those of Montgomery County, PA ($6.3B 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: Trappe is mostly in Montgomery County.

See federal money in Montgomery 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.

Trappe, Pennsylvania is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

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.

Montgomery County92100% 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 Montgomery 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/4277304

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends