Living in Windber, 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 neighborhood24 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 5.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 4.3 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town3 public schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byChan Soon- Shiong Medical Center at Windber is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityPittsburgh is about 62 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 Windber 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

Windber runs into the built-up area around Johnstown (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: $99,000U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 27%Somerset County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $750 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $52,438U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 70%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $1,269 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940: 40%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 27% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Pennsylvania outside metro areas, not Windber 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: 3,7802020: 3,926
Median age: 41.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 21%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: Retail (26%); schools, health care and social services (21%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Unemployment rate: 6%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 19 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 14%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Chan Soon- Shiong Medical Center at Windber, Windber, PA, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 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 Windber, run by Windber Area SD.

Colleges in or next to town: Pennsylvania Highlands Community College (1,000 to 4,999 students); University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown (1,000 to 4,999 students).

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: 86%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: 79°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 0 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 127 a year
Rain and melted snow: 44.2 inches a year
Snow: 74 inches a year
Elevation: 1,685 feet

Weather stations: Johnstown Cambria Co Ap (6 miles away) and Dunlo (6 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

Pittsburgh, PAMetro of 2.4 million62

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: Pittsburgh.

Somerset County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 6, 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 Windber Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Johnstown Flood National Memorial8 miles
Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site9 miles
Flight 93 National Memorial11 miles
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park41 miles
Fort Necessity National Battlefield49 miles

Campus life. Check University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Windber's history on Wikipedia.

Know Windber?

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

Belmont, PA2,600 people, 4 miles
Geistown, PA2,300 people, 5 miles
Ferndale, PA1,500 people, 6 miles
Elim, PA3,800 people, 8 miles
Southmont, PA2,000 people, 8 miles
Johnstown, PA17,700 people, 8 miles

Smaller places

Paint, PA875 people, 1 mile
Scalp Level, PA716 people, 1 mile
University of Pittsburgh Johnstown, PA (unincorporated)1,380 people, 2 miles
Salix, PA (unincorporated)1,115 people, 5 miles
Lorain, PA568 people, 6 miles
Oakland, PA (unincorporated)1,627 people, 6 miles
Davidsville, PA (unincorporated)826 people, 6 miles
Benson, PA177 people, 6 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.