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Sunbury, Pennsylvania

Sunbury is a small town of about 9,500 people in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. It's the county seat. It has lost about 2% 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, Philadelphia, is about 105 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
9,495
down 2.1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$107,200
Northumberland County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$51,028
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, rural Pennsylvania
90.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Lewisburg, PA
To Philadelphia
105 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 neighborhood10 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.1 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 2.7 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town3 public schools: 2 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byWellspan Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPhiladelphia is about 105 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 Sunbury 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
$107,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Northumberland County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$738 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$51,028U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
57%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,444 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940
51%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
0%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 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Pennsylvania outside metro areas, not Sunbury 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
9,4952020: 9,698
Median age
45.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
22%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
20%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
12%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%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
Retail (21%); manufacturing (18%); schools, health care and social services (17%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
9%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: Wellspan Evangelical Community Hospital, Lewisburg, PA, about 10 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

3 public schools in Sunbury, run by Shikellamy 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
65%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
83%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
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
16 a year
Nights at or below freezing
134 a year
Rain and melted snow
43.7 inches a year
Snow
29 inches a year
Elevation
439 feet

Weather station: Sunbury (1 mile 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: Wellspan Evangelical Community Hospital, Harrisburg, Philadelphia.

Northumberland 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

7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Sunbury Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail26 miles
  • Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument49 miles

Read about Sunbury's history on Wikipedia.

Know Sunbury?

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

  • Kapp Heights, PA (unincorporated)712 people, 3 miles
  • Hummels Wharf, PA (unincorporated)876 people, 4 miles
  • Winfield, PA (unincorporated)909 people, 4 miles
  • Kratzerville, PA (unincorporated)319 people, 5 miles
  • Snydertown, PA316 people, 6 miles
  • Montandon, PA (unincorporated)831 people, 8 miles
  • Trevorton, PA (unincorporated)1,775 people, 8 miles
  • Linntown, PA (unincorporated)1,764 people, 9 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.