Living in Doylestown, Pennsylvania: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 2.6% above the U.S. average in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 5.3 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 Doylestown 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 town11 public schools: 6 elementary, 3 middle and 2 high schools.
A hospital close byDoylestown Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityPhiladelphia is about 21 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 Doylestown 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.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Doylestown runs into the built-up area around Philadelphia (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $527,700U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 21%Bucks County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,791 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $99,322U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 47%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $4,500 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940: 28%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 102.6U.S. average = 100 (the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 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 21% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area, not Doylestown 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: 8,3302020: 8,299
Median age: 48.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 29%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 14%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 59%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 6%U.S.: 6%
College students: 5%share of all residents

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 (21%); professional and business services (15%); manufacturing (11%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 20%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 6%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Doylestown Hospital, Doylestown, PA, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 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

11 public schools in Doylestown, run by Central Bucks SD.

Colleges in or next to town: Delaware Valley University (1,000 to 4,999 students).

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: 85%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 94%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: 23°F
July average high: 86°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 20 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 106 a year
Rain and melted snow: 51.7 inches a year
Snow: 22 inches a year
Elevation: 454 feet

Weather stations: Doylestown Ap (1 mile away) and Sellersville (10 miles away, rain and snow). 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

Trenton, NJCity of 92,00020

Philadelphia, PAMetro of 6.3 million21

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: Trenton, Philadelphia.

Bucks 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

12 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Fonthill, Mercer Museum and Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, the Doylestown Historic District, the Fordhook Farm and the Shaw Historic District. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Valley Forge National Historical Park21 miles
Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site24 miles
Independence National Historical Park25 miles
Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial26 miles
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site34 miles

Campus life. Check Delaware Valley University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Doylestown's history on Wikipedia.

Know Doylestown?

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

New Britain, PA2,800 people, 3 miles
Chalfont, PA4,400 people, 5 miles
Plumsteadville, PA2,600 people, 5 miles
Brittany Farms-The Highlands, PA4,600 people, 6 miles
Dublin, PA2,400 people, 6 miles
Montgomeryville, PA13,400 people, 7 miles

Smaller places

Blooming Glen, PA (unincorporated)868 people, 7 miles
Ivyland, PA943 people, 8 miles
Silverdale, PA793 people, 8 miles
Stockton, NJ497 people, 10 miles
Feasterville, PA (unincorporated)2,461 people, 13 miles
Titusville, NJ (unincorporated)501 people, 13 miles
Washington Crossing, NJ (unincorporated)536 people, 14 miles
Trumbauersville, PA881 people, 15 miles

Sources

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.