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Centerville, Pennsylvania

Centerville is a small town of about 3,200 people in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.7 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Pittsburgh, is about 28 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,223
down 1.6% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$120,600
Washington County prices up 15% since 2022
Household income
$71,250
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Pittsburgh area
94.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
11 miles
Monongahela, PA
To Pittsburgh
28 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 5.3% below the U.S. average in the Pittsburgh metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 1.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Centerville itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byPenn Highlands Mon Valley in Monongahela, about 11 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPittsburgh is about 28 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Centerville meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$120,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 15%Washington County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$71,250U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
86%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,404 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940
46%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
94.7U.S. average = 100 (the Pittsburgh metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 15% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Pittsburgh metro area, not Centerville alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
3,2232020: 3,275
Median age
51.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
18%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
22%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (25%); retail (22%); manufacturing (13%)
Unemployment rate
1%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
38 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Penn Highlands Mon Valley, Monongahela, PA, about 11 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 1 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

4 public schools in Centerville, run by California Area SD and California Academy of Learning CS.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Pennsylvania's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
77%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
86%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
21°F
July average high
85°F
Days 90°F or hotter
17 a year
Nights at or below freezing
108 a year
Rain and melted snow
40.9 inches a year
Snow
10 inches a year
Elevation
1,117 feet

Weather station: Charleroi Lock 4 (9 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Penn Highlands Mon Valley, Pittsburgh.

Washington County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Centerville Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Friendship Hill National Historic Site17 miles
  • Fort Necessity National Battlefield20 miles
  • Flight 93 National Memorial55 miles
Know Centerville?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Aaronsburg, PA (unincorporated)212 people, 3 miles
  • Hiller, PA (unincorporated)1,536 people, 3 miles
  • Fredericktown, PA (unincorporated)488 people, 3 miles
  • West Brownsville, PA960 people, 4 miles
  • Millsboro, PA (unincorporated)282 people, 4 miles
  • Deemston, PA735 people, 4 miles
  • Coal Center, PA110 people, 4 miles
  • Beallsville, PA389 people, 4 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.