State rental market analysis · PA
Pennsylvania rental markets
32 tracked cities over 20,000 population, 28 ranked and summarized by their median Overall. Every number traces to Census, Zillow and BLS. All states ranked →
Browse every Pennsylvania ZIP Code area → · the full server-rendered index for this state.
Part of the Middle Atlantic Census division (Northeast region).
The honest read
Pennsylvania ranks #42 of 51 states for rental investing, with a median Overall of 39.8/100 across its ranked cities, below the national median. 28 ranked cities roll up into this grade.
A state grade is the median of its ranked cities, a screen for where to look, not underwriting. Open any city below for its full shown-math breakdown, or run a specific deal through the cap rate and cash-flow calculators.
Where it ranks, factor by factor
Every value is the median across the 28 ranked cities in this state. The national rank compares all 51 states on that one factor; the engine already flips inverted factors (affordability, low unemployment) so a better rank always means a better market. Each factor sits in one of the model’s three categories (Cash Flow, Growth, or Stability); this is a representative summary, and the full thirteen-factor breakdown is on each city’s page. Full methodology.
| Factor | Category | State value | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross rent yield | Cash Flow | 8.2% | not measured |
| Rent growth | Growth | 4.0% | not measured |
| Home value growth | Growth | 4.9% | not measured |
| Population growth | Growth | 0.0% | not measured |
| Job growth | Growth | 0.6% | not measured |
| Price-to-income | Cash Flow | 4.2× | not measured |
| Unemployment | Stability | 4.0% | not measured |
| Rental demand | Stability | 49% renters · 522.3% vacancy | not measured |
| Income growth | Growth | 6.7% | not measured |
Every city in Pennsylvania, ranked
Led by Chester at 66/100. Click any column to re-sort; every city links to its full shown-math breakdown.
| PA rank | City | Grade | Cash Flow | Growth | Stability | Typical home value | Gross yield | National rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 med | Chester | 66 | A | C | C | $85,400 | 15.2% | #129 |
| 2 med | Lancaster | 64 | B | C | B | $203,700 | 6.9% | #181 |
| 3 | Wilkes-Barre | 56 | B | C | D | $184,034 | 8.7% | #492 |
| 4 | Philadelphia | 54 | A | C | D | $234,630 | 9.2% | #578 |
| 5 | Chambersburg | 51 | C | C | B | $291,705 | 5.3% | #717 |
| 6 | Murrysville | 50 | B | D | C | $359,930 | 6.5% | #788 |
| 7 | Bethlehem | 49 | D | C | C | $364,711 | 6.2% | #835 |
| 8 | Carlisle | 48 | D | B | B | $336,332 | 5.1% | #859 |
| 9 | Reading | 48 | D | B | C | $268,328 | 6.3% | #860 |
| 10 | Pittsburgh | 47 | A | D | D | $240,989 | 7.8% | #931 |
| 11 | Allentown | 47 | D | C | C | $319,980 | 6.5% | #935 |
| 12 med | Plum | 44 | B | D | C | $218,600 | 6.3% | #1116 |
| 13 | Easton | 42 | D | B | C | $386,797 | 6.1% | #1172 |
| 14 | Norristown | 41 | D | C | C | $340,154 | 6.2% | #1223 |
| 15 | Altoona | 40 | A | F | D | $144,245 | 9.3% | #1283 |
| 16 | Scranton | 39 | B | D | D | $194,124 | 8.1% | #1300 |
| 17 | Lebanon | 39 | D | D | C | $291,898 | 5.7% | #1329 |
| 18 | Monroeville | 38 | B | F | C | $235,247 | 6.6% | #1335 |
| 19 | Hazleton | 37 | C | C | F | $224,239 | 7.5% | #1385 |
| 20 | State College | 37 | D | D | C | $421,721 | 5.2% | #1386 |
| 21 | New Castle | 37 | B | D | D | $153,221 | 7.4% | #1396 |
| 22 | Bethel Park | 37 | C | D | D | $308,174 | 5.9% | #1421 |
| 23 | York | 36 | F | C | C | $281,185 | 5.9% | #1438 |
| 24 | Harrisburg | 36 | D | C | D | $270,397 | 6.1% | #1457 |
| 25 med | Baldwin | 36 | B | D | D | $191,700 | 6.5% | #1466 |
| 26 | Pottstown | 34 | D | C | C | $361,730 | 6.6% | #1549 |
| 27 | Erie | 25 | D | F | D | $208,273 | 6.3% | #1744 |
| 28 | Williamsport | 24 | D | D | D | $211,327 | 5.7% | #1761 |
Data as of: Zillow ZHVI/ZORI through the latest monthly release · Census ACS 5-yr 2019–2023 · Census PEP July 2024 · BLS LAUS county 2023 annual. Generated 2026-09-01. Methodology & limitations · underwrite any specific deal with the free calculators.
Limited-data cities in Pennsylvania
These 4 cities lack enough measured factors to rank, so they are excluded from the state grade; their pages show exactly what could be measured.
ZIP markets in Pennsylvania
1,833 Census ZIP Codes (ZCTAs) in Pennsylvania · 1,100 data-eligible for subscores. These are sub-city government areas ranked separately from the Pennsylvania city table. The overall Rental Investor ZIP Score leaderboard leads; the two component subscores (affordability, rental-market context) follow as independent percentiles. ZIP ranks are shown within the ZIP universe only, never mixed with, and not directly comparable to, city ranks. Vintage: the Key metric column is Census ACS 2020–2024 (5-year), a newer release than the ACS 2019–2023 figures the city table above uses; the same measure can legitimately disagree between the two.
Best overall ZIP Codes in Pennsylvania
Ranked by the overall Rental Investor ZIP Score. The # is each ZIP Code's canonical PA state rank; the smaller figure is its national rank. Separate from the Pennsylvania city table and not directly comparable to it.
| PA rank | ZIP Code | Overallgrade · national | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 17055Mechanicsburg | A 74#113 nat | 6.1%Survey yield |
| #2 | 17050New Kingstown | A 74#127 nat | 4.7%Survey yield |
| #3 | 17025Enola | A 74#135 nat | 5.7%Survey yield |
| #4 | 17011Camp Hill | A 72#314 nat | 6.0%Survey yield |
| #5 | 19341Exton | A 70#458 nat | 5.1%Survey yield |
| #6 | 18042Easton | A 69#696 nat | 7.1%Survey yield |
| #7 | 19460Phoenixville | A 69#768 nat | 4.7%Survey yield |
| #8 | 17013Carlisle | A 68#800 nat | 5.8%Survey yield |
| #9 | 17257Shippensburg | A 68#821 nat | 5.5%Survey yield |
| #10 | 17015 | A 68#930 nat | 4.9%Survey yield |
| #11 | 19335Downingtown | A 67#1,093 nat | 4.2%Survey yield |
| #11 | 19406King of Prussia | A 67#1,093 nat | 5.8%Survey yield |
Top affordability ZIP Codes in Pennsylvania
State-scoped leaders on the affordability subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Substantially an inverse housing-cost signal: a component of the overall score, not a predicted return.
| # | ZIP Code | Affordability | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17016Cornwall | 100#1 nat | 18.9%Survey yield |
| 2 | 19140Philadelphia | 81#1,192 nat | 13.1%Survey yield |
| 3 | 19143Philadelphia | 81#1,220 nat | 9.8%Survey yield |
| 4 | 19139Philadelphia | 80#1,342 nat | 10.6%Survey yield |
| 5 | 19133Philadelphia | 78#1,609 nat | 13.5%Survey yield |
| 6 | 19131Philadelphia | 77#1,688 nat | 9.2%Survey yield |
| 7 | 18254Tresckow | 77#1,752 nat | 11.0%Survey yield |
| 8 | 15211Pittsburgh | 76#1,803 nat | 8.0%Survey yield |
| 9 | 19132Philadelphia | 76#1,803 nat | 16.1%Survey yield |
| 10 | 15437Farmington | 76#1,933 nat | 6.3%Survey yield |
| 11 | 15201Pittsburgh | 75#1,976 nat | 6.9%Survey yield |
| 12 | 19120Philadelphia | 75#1,996 nat | 9.7%Survey yield |
Deepest rental-market ZIP Codes in Pennsylvania
State-scoped leaders on the rental-market-context subscore only (national rank shown is within that subscore’s data-eligible universe). Rental depth/tightness: a separate component, never combined here with affordability.
| # | ZIP Code | Rental market | Key metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18342Mountainhome | 83#47 nat | 6.3%Survey yield |
| 2 | 18087Trexlertown | 83#62 nat | 4.0%Survey yield |
| 3 | 15148Wall | 83#76 nat | 16.0%Survey yield |
| 4 | 15104North Braddock | 82#82 nat | 12.3%Survey yield |
| 5 | 19372Thorndale | 82#93 nat | 7.3%Survey yield |
| 6 | 19133Philadelphia | 82#123 nat | 13.5%Survey yield |
| 7 | 17954Minersville | 81#174 nat | 11.3%Survey yield |
| 8 | 19601Reading | 80#253 nat | 9.9%Survey yield |
| 9 | 15145Turtle Creek | 80#271 nat | 7.4%Survey yield |
| 10 | 18351Portland | 79#299 nat | 5.5%Survey yield |
| 11 | 15034Dravosburg | 79#339 nat | 8.1%Survey yield |
| 12 | 16045Homeacre-Lyndora | 79#347 nat | 9.2%Survey yield |