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Towns / Pennsylvania

Newville, Pennsylvania

Newville is a small town of about 1,400 people in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3 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, Baltimore, is about 73 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,409
up 1.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$177,100
Cumberland County prices up 20% since 2022
Household income
$59,087
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Harrisburg area
98.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
9 miles
Carlisle, PA
To Baltimore
73 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.3% below the U.S. average in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 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 Newville 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 town5 public schools: 3 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byUPMC Carlisle in Carlisle, about 9 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBaltimore is about 73 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 Newville 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
$177,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 20%Cumberland County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$957 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$59,087U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
44%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,549 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940
72%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
98.7U.S. average = 100 (the Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 20% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area, not Newville 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
1,4092020: 1,393
Median age
34.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
12%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
17%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%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
Transportation, warehousing and utilities (22%); schools, health care and social services (16%); professional and business services (15%)
Unemployment rate
6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
17%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: UPMC Carlisle, Carlisle, PA, about 9 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

5 public schools in Newville, run by Big Spring 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
76%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
22°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
11 a year
Nights at or below freezing
110 a year
Rain and melted snow
42.5 inches a year
Snow
34 inches a year
Elevation
538 feet

Weather stations: Bloserville 1 N (7 miles away) and Shippensburg (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

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: UPMC Carlisle, Harrisburg, Baltimore.

Cumberland County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Newville Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail9 miles
  • Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument12 miles
  • Gettysburg National Military Park23 miles
  • Eisenhower National Historic Site26 miles
  • Catoctin Mountain Park33 miles

Read about Newville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Newville?

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

  • Plainfield, PA (unincorporated)248 people, 7 miles
  • Newburg, PA359 people, 8 miles
  • Shippensburg University, PA (unincorporated)2,071 people, 10 miles
  • Carlisle Barracks, PA (unincorporated)730 people, 12 miles
  • Blain, PA225 people, 13 miles
  • Landisburg, PA224 people, 13 miles
  • Orrstown, PA210 people, 13 miles
  • Loysville, PA (unincorporated)587 people, 14 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.