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Towns / Pennsylvania

Farrell, Pennsylvania

Farrell is a small town of about 4,100 people in Mercer County, Pennsylvania. It has lost about 3% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.1 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 60 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,110
down 3.3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$87,800
Mercer County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$42,595
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Pennsylvania
90.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Sharon Regional Medical Center
To Pittsburgh
60 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 9.7% below the U.S. average in the parts of Pennsylvania outside metro areas.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.1 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 Farrell 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 town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close bySharon Regional Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPittsburgh is about 60 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 Farrell 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
$87,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Mercer County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$902 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$42,595U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
62%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,584 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940
20%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
90.3U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Pennsylvania outside metro areas)

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 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Pennsylvania outside metro areas, not Farrell 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
4,1102020: 4,251
Median age
43.7 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
23%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
15%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
1%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 (48%); retail (9%); manufacturing (8%)
Unemployment rate
8%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
15 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
24%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Sharon Regional Medical Center, Sharon, PA, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 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

3 public schools in Farrell, run by Farrell Area SD and Sharon City SD.

Colleges in or next to town: Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Shenango (under 1,000 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
66%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
88%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
19°F
July average high
83°F
Days 90°F or hotter
8 a year
Nights at or below freezing
127 a year
Rain and melted snow
41.2 inches a year
Snow
68 inches a year
Elevation
987 feet

Weather station: Youngstown Rgnl Ap (10 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: Youngstown, Pittsburgh.

Mercer County is outside any metro area, with 20,000 or more people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 4, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Cuyahoga Valley National Park52 miles
  • First Ladies National Historic Site54 miles
  • James A. Garfield National Historic Site54 miles

Campus life. Check Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Shenango's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Farrell's history on Wikipedia.

Know Farrell?

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

  • West Hill, OH (unincorporated)2,425 people, 2 miles
  • Masury, OH (unincorporated)2,283 people, 2 miles
  • West Middlesex, PA772 people, 3 miles
  • Brookfield Center, OH (unincorporated)1,216 people, 4 miles
  • Maplewood Park, OH (unincorporated)155 people, 7 miles
  • Clark, PA558 people, 7 miles
  • Vienna Center, OH (unincorporated)611 people, 8 miles
  • New Bedford, PA (unincorporated)813 people, 8 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.