Living in Lansdale, 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 3.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood20 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 7.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town12 public schools: 9 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byJefferson Lansdale Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityPhiladelphia is about 18 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 Lansdale 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

Lansdale 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: $343,800U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 21%Montgomery County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,470 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $88,229U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 55%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $4,015 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940: 26%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 9%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 Lansdale 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: 18,9862020: 18,830
Median age: 37.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 21%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 40%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%); manufacturing (18%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 25 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 17%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 11%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Jefferson Lansdale Hospital, Lansdale, 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

12 public schools in Lansdale, run by North Penn SD and Methacton SD.

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: 80%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 92%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: 24°F
July average high: 85°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 22 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 92 a year
Rain and melted snow: 48.5 inches a year
Snow: 13 inches a year
Elevation: 363 feet

Weather stations: Willow Grove Nas (7 miles away) and Graterford 1 E (8 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

Philadelphia, PAMetro of 6.3 million18

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: Philadelphia.

Montgomery 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

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Valley Forge National Historical Park11 miles
Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site21 miles
Independence National Historical Park21 miles
Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial22 miles
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site25 miles

Read about Lansdale's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lansdale?

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

North Wales, PA3,400 people, 2 miles
Montgomeryville, PA13,400 people, 2 miles
Hatfield, PA3,400 people, 3 miles
Kulpsville, PA8,800 people, 3 miles
Brittany Farms-The Highlands, PA4,600 people, 4 miles
Chalfont, PA4,400 people, 5 miles

Smaller places

Silverdale, PA793 people, 7 miles
Blooming Glen, PA (unincorporated)868 people, 9 miles
Swedesburg, PA (unincorporated)806 people, 10 miles
Spring Mount, PA (unincorporated)2,288 people, 10 miles
Woxall, PA (unincorporated)1,347 people, 10 miles
Swedeland, PA (unincorporated)1,630 people, 11 miles
Ivyland, PA943 people, 11 miles
Oaks, PA (unincorporated)943 people, 12 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.