Living in Pymatuning Central, Pennsylvania: homes, schools and costs

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 1.9 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Conneaut Area Senior High, about 6 miles away.
A hospital close byUPMC Horizon in Greenville, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityCleveland is about 63 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 Pymatuning Central 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

Tourist town. About 55% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

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: $119,400U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 20%Crawford County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $744 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $64,479U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 91%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,497 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940: 8%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 5%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 55%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 Pymatuning Central 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, 2020-2024 Census survey: 2,593The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 54.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 30%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 14%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 14%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: Schools, health care and social services (17%); construction (17%); manufacturing (17%)
Unemployment rate: 3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 34 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 9%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: UPMC Horizon, Greenville, PA, about 13 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 Pymatuning Central itself. The nearest public high school is Conneaut Area Senior High, about 6 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: 78%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 89%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: 17°F
July average high: 80°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 3 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 136 a year
Rain and melted snow: 42 inches a year
Snow: 64 inches a year
Elevation: 1,109 feet

Weather station: Linesville 1 S (5 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

UPMC HorizonEmergency room13

Youngstown, OHCity of 59,00035

Cleveland, OHMetro of 2.2 million63

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 Horizon, Youngstown, Cleveland.

Crawford 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:

James A. Garfield National Historic Site45 miles
Cuyahoga Valley National Park56 miles

Read about Pymatuning Central's history on Wikipedia.

Know Pymatuning Central?

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

Greenville, PA5,400 people, 14 miles
Meadville, PA12,200 people, 18 miles
Jefferson, OH3,100 people, 18 miles
Roaming Shores, OH1,600 people, 18 miles
Orwell, OH1,500 people, 20 miles
Albion, PA1,500 people, 22 miles

Smaller places

Andover, OH920 people, 5 miles
Pymatuning South, PA (unincorporated)367 people, 5 miles
Pymatuning North, PA (unincorporated)290 people, 5 miles
Linesville, PA932 people, 6 miles
Hartstown, PA (unincorporated)181 people, 6 miles
Jamestown, PA556 people, 8 miles
Conneaut Lake, PA609 people, 9 miles
Conneaut Lakeshore, PA (unincorporated)1,886 people, 9 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.