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Frackville, Pennsylvania

Frackville is a small town of about 3,900 people in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.8 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, Philadelphia, is about 79 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,893
up 1.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$103,400
Schuylkill County prices up 25% since 2022
Household income
$56,866
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Pennsylvania
90.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
7 miles
Pottsville, PA
To Philadelphia
79 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 1.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood2 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0.4 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Shenandoah Valley Jshs, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close bySchuylkill Medical Center - South Jackson Street in Pottsville, about 7 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPhiladelphia is about 79 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 Frackville 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
$103,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 25%Schuylkill County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$815 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$56,866U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
74%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,952 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940
52%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%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 25% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Pennsylvania outside metro areas, not Frackville 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
3,8932020: 3,851
Median age
40.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
27%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
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 (33%); retail (21%); manufacturing (14%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
25 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
19%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Schuylkill Medical Center - South Jackson Street, Pottsville, PA, about 7 miles away. 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

There are no public schools inside Frackville itself. The nearest public high school is Shenandoah Valley Jshs, about 3 miles away.

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
68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
81%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
18°F
July average high
80°F
Days 90°F or hotter
2 a year
Nights at or below freezing
139 a year
Rain and melted snow
53.6 inches a year
Snow
48 inches a year
Elevation
1,462 feet

Weather station: Mahanoy City 2 N (6 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: Schuylkill Medical Center - South Jackson Street, Reading, Philadelphia.

Schuylkill 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:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail16 miles
  • Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site46 miles
  • Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area51 miles
  • Steamtown National Historic Site52 miles
  • Middle Delaware National Scenic River59 miles

Read about Frackville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Frackville?

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

  • Englewood, PA (unincorporated)661 people, 1 mile
  • Altamont, PA (unincorporated)526 people, 1 mile
  • Gilberton, PA590 people, 1 mile
  • Morea, PA (unincorporated)157 people, 3 miles
  • Shenandoah Heights, PA (unincorporated)1,262 people, 4 miles
  • New Boston, PA (unincorporated)192 people, 4 miles
  • Heckscherville, PA (unincorporated)279 people, 5 miles
  • Ringtown, PA721 people, 5 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.