44 counties · Boom Town Index

Pennsylvania

Avg BTI Score
51 / 100
Population
12.3M
+0.2% avg growth
National Rank
#28 of 51

State Overview

Pennsylvania's economy is experiencing moderate growth in 2025-2026, driven by investments in key sectors and a focus on streamlining business processes. The state saw the third-highest job growth nationally in 2025, with over 76,000 new jobs, particularly in construction and manufacturing. This economic expansion is occurring alongside efforts to modernize tax structures and regulatory frameworks, aiming to enhance the state's competitiveness.

The housing market in Pennsylvania is shifting towards a more balanced state after a period of rapid price increases. While median home values continue to appreciate, the pace has moderated, and inventory levels are showing signs of increasing, particularly in Eastern Pennsylvania. Migration patterns indicate a net outflow of residents to other U.S. states, though this is being offset by international migration, which is contributing to the state's overall population increase.

Median Household Income
$71,089
State median across 44 counties
Median Home Value
$227,600
Income-to-home ratio: 0.33
Building Permits
24,767
Total residential permits
Natural Amenity
5.9 / 10
#31 of 49 · USDA scale

Pennsylvania Counties

44 counties
Rank County BTI Score Safety Proj. Growth GDP Pop Growth Income Ratio Home Price Climate P/R
01 Lawrence County 98 C+ +6.2% — -0.5% +1.9% 8.3x +2.9% 0.2 13x
02 Schuylkill County 97 F +6.6% — +0.2% +2.1% 7.8x +5.0% 0.5 10x
03 Carbon County 95 B- +5.4% — +0.3% -0.5% 18.3x +0.6% 0.7 14x
04 Indiana County 93 A +9.3% — -0.2% +2.5% 7.8x +7.2% 0.4 15x
05 Blair County 92 A +6.2% — -0.5% +3.0% 6.1x +7.6% -0.9 12x
06 Lycoming County 92 D +5.2% — -0.1% -0.8% 8.1x +4.5% 0.3 16x
07 Northumberland County 89 B- +2.7% — -0.4% +4.5% 10.0x +3.3% 0.7 13x
08 Cambria County 84 C+ +4.4% — -0.6% +3.8% 6.5x -0.5% -0.2 12x
09 Monroe County 79 B +4.9% — -0.2% +1.4% 14.2x +1.1% 0.9 12x
10 Franklin County 79 B+ +4.9% — +0.5% +2.7% 11.2x +2.9% -0.6 16x
11 Chester County 70 A +5.3% — +1.3% +3.4% 11.6x +2.8% -1.5 18x
12 Lancaster County 67 B+ +4.3% — +0.5% +3.9% 10.6x +4.7% 0.5 16x
13 Berks County 65 B- +5.3% — +0.7% +2.7% 9.6x +2.9% -0.7 14x
14 Crawford County 63 B +3.3% — -0.6% +0.4% 8.4x +6.4% -2.0 16x
15 Fayette County 62 C+ +3.8% — -0.8% +3.8% 9.0x +1.4% 0.3 13x
16 Lebanon County 60 B+ +4.3% — +0.4% +2.7% 11.3x +5.5% -0.7 15x
17 Columbia County 59 B- +3.8% — +0.5% +4.3% 10.7x +5.0% -0.1 15x
18 York County 59 C+ +5.0% — +0.8% +3.1% 9.7x +3.4% -0.6 15x
19 Pike County 55 B+ +6.0% — +1.6% +2.5% 29.0x +3.2% 1.3 10x
20 Montgomery County 53 B+ +4.3% — +0.7% +2.1% 8.3x +2.2% -0.5 18x
21 Clearfield County 52 A +3.5% — -0.3% +3.3% 6.9x +3.8% 0.8 14x
22 Luzerne County 51 B- +5.9% — +0.5% +2.2% 6.7x +2.4% 0.3 11x
23 Northampton County 48 B+ +5.4% — +0.8% +2.9% 12.7x +3.0% -0.0 13x
24 Beaver County 47 B +5.6% — -0.4% +1.3% 10.7x +4.6% 0.6 16x
25 Centre County 46 A +4.9% — +0.3% +2.1% 11.3x +2.6% -0.4 15x
26 Mercer County 46 B +2.3% — -0.5% -1.1% 7.6x +1.1% -2.8 16x
27 Venango County 41 C +3.7% — -0.6% -0.2% 6.7x -0.1% -0.9 12x
28 Somerset County 41 A +4.0% — -0.6% +3.5% 9.1x +5.5% 0.0 17x
29 Wayne County 40 B- +4.9% — +0.1% +0.3% 14.3x +4.0% 0.4 19x
30 Erie County 32 B- +5.3% — -0.2% +3.0% 7.1x +6.0% -0.6 13x
31 Washington County 32 B+ +3.7% — +0.1% +1.9% 7.3x +3.3% 0.4 15x
32 Adams County 32 B+ +4.0% — +0.9% +3.7% 15.0x +4.0% -0.1 17x
33 Cumberland County 29 A +4.7% — +1.5% +2.2% 8.2x +3.0% -0.6 14x
34 Armstrong County 28 B +2.7% — -0.7% +1.1% 12.3x -2.4% 0.4 17x
35 Delaware County 28 D +4.8% — +0.5% +1.1% 11.7x +2.6% -0.7 15x
36 Bucks County 25 A +4.1% — +0.2% +2.5% 15.7x +3.2% 0.0 17x
37 Lehigh County 21 B +4.6% — +0.9% +3.3% 7.7x +4.1% -0.4 14x
38 Allegheny County 20 D +3.0% — -0.2% +2.8% 5.2x +0.4% 0.5 12x
39 Dauphin County 17 C +4.6% — +0.7% +2.8% 5.2x +3.4% 1.1 14x
40 Bradford County 14 B- +5.2% — -0.2% +1.9% 8.0x +5.1% 0.3 17x
41 Philadelphia County 7 F +1.5% — -0.2% +2.1% 6.2x +0.4% -0.5 11x
42 Lackawanna County 7 B+ +1.2% — +0.1% +2.4% 8.0x +1.5% 0.2 13x
43 Westmoreland County 6 B+ +0.4% — -0.2% +2.3% 9.5x -1.4% 0.9 16x
44 Butler County 4 A -0.4% — +0.7% +3.5% 9.6x -0.7% -0.2 14x

Capital Investment in Pennsylvania

Tracked Projects · Public Records
$272.6B
Total tracked investment
83,616
Jobs announced
157
Projects across 38 counties

Where the money is going

Data Centers $201.3B 74%
Energy $58.1B 21%
Manufacturing $7.5B 3%
Industrial/Logistics $2.5B 1%
Infrastructure $2.1B 1%

Top counties by investment

  1. 01 Pike County $33.0B
    2 projects · 2,580 jobs
  2. 02 Luzerne County $28.4B
    6 projects · 14,150 jobs
  3. 03 Wayne County $25.2B
    4 projects
  4. 04 Bucks County $22.0B
    6 projects · 15,250 jobs
  5. 05 Schuylkill County $21.2B
    6 projects · 450 jobs
  6. 06 Columbia County $20.2B
    3 projects

Largest projects in Pennsylvania

Project County Amount Status
AI Data Center and Natural Gas Power Plant
SoftBank · Data Centers · 2,500 jobs
 Pike County $33.0B Under Construction
Natural Gas Power Generation & Data Center Infrastructure (Northeast PA)
PPL and Blackstone Infrastructure · Energy
 Wayne County $25.0B Proposed
AWS Susquehanna Data Center
Amazon Web Services (AWS) · Data Centers · 1,250 jobs
 Luzerne County $20.0B Planned
Amazon Web Services (AWS) Data Center Campus (Falls Township)
Amazon · Data Centers · 1,250 jobs
 Bucks County $20.0B Under Construction
AWS Data Center Campus
Amazon Web Services (AWS) · Data Centers · 250 jobs
 Schuylkill County $20.0B Planned
Amazon Data Centers (2 facilities, one near Berwick)
Amazon · Data Centers
 Columbia County $20.0B Proposed
Pennsylvania Digital 1 (PAX-1) Hyperscale Data Center Campus
Carlisle Development Partners / PowerHouse Data Centers · Data Centers · 450 jobs
 Cumberland County $15.0B Under Construction
Gouldsboro Data Center Campus
1778 Rich Pike LLC (potentially NE Edge) · Data Centers
 Lackawanna County $14.2B Proposed
→ Methodology · How We Tracked $4T Across 858 Counties

Source: public records, corporate announcements, state EDC filings. Tracking projects with $25M+ in announced investment or 500+ jobs. Some figures are estimates where exact totals weren't disclosed.

Pennsylvania shaded relief terrain map
SRTM 30m shaded relief
State Spotlight · 2026-04-29

Pennsylvania's economy sees moderate growth, housing market rebalances

Driving economic growth

Investments in data centers by Amazon and nuclear reactor agreements with Westinghouse are contributing to economic activity. The state's health and education sectors, along with white-collar industries, provide a stable economic foundation. Pennsylvania also ranked 11th in Site Selection Magazine's 2025 Business Climate Rankings.

Housing market right now

The median sales price for homes in Pennsylvania increased by 5.2% in March 2026 compared to March 2025. However, the number of homes sold decreased by 4.5% year-over-year, and inventory saw a 1.5% rise. Eastern Pennsylvania markets, including Lehigh County and Allentown, experienced continued price appreciation in 2025.

Migration patterns

Pennsylvania experienced a net decline of almost 3,000 people leaving for other U.S. states from 2024 to 2025. International migration, however, led to a net gain of 26,900 new residents in 2025, offsetting domestic out-migration. Top states for movers to Pennsylvania in 2024 included New Jersey, New York, and Florida.

Fiscal and regulatory challenges

Pennsylvania faces a projected structural deficit of $6.8 billion in the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Uncertainty regarding regulations and government policies is a primary concern for businesses in the Philadelphia region. Some counties, such as Philadelphia and Allegheny, have experienced numeric population declines from 2020 to 2025.

Key facts

  • Pennsylvania's real gross state product is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 1.5% through 2029. (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 2025-2026 Estimate Documentation)
  • The median sales price for homes in Pennsylvania was $295,000 in September 2024, a 9% increase from September 2023. (Pennsylvania Housing Market: Trends and Forecast 2025-2026, October 2024)
  • Pennsylvania gained over 76,000 jobs from December 2024 to December 2025, a 1.2% increase year-over-year. (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, March 2026)
  • The 2025-2026 state budget increased spending to $50.09 billion, a 5.1% increase over the prior year. (Commonwealth Foundation, November 2025)
  • PennDOT plans to invest over $655 million in infrastructure projects in Northeast PA during the 2026 construction season. (Global Highways, April 2026)
Updated 2026-04-29 · grounded research
18 sources
  1. pa.gov
  2. pachamber.org
  3. noradarealestate.com
  4. clifflewisrealtor.com
  5. homebuyersofpittsburgh.com
  6. pa.gov
  7. centredaily.com
  8. psats.org
  9. mbabizmag.com
  10. td.com
  11. harrisburgregionalchamber.org
  12. parealtors.org
  13. redfin.com
  14. commonwealthfoundation.org
  15. philadelphiafed.org
  16. pa.gov
  17. commonwealthfoundation.org
  18. globalhighways.com