11 Safest Towns In Pennsylvania For Senior Living
Jim Thorpe sits in the heart of the Pocono Mountains with a senior center that serves lunch Monday through Friday and an opera house booking live music down the block. Ephrata's WellSpan hospital is in town and the Green Dragon Farmers Market opens every Friday. Camp Hill made AARP's 2025 list of the 100 best places to retire. Across these eleven Pennsylvania boroughs and townships, the combination of low crime, real medical access, and senior infrastructure is more than a marketing claim. We pulled five years of FBI Crime Data Explorer figures and weighed nearby healthcare, senior programming, and walkability to land here.
Jim Thorpe
In the heart of the Pocono Mountains, Carbon County's Jim Thorpe runs about 35 miles north of Allentown and 37% of its residents are over 60. The crime numbers stay low across the board: an average of three aggravated assaults a year over the last five, no homicides, and very low property crime rates. Healthcare is close. St. Luke's Lehighton Campus is three miles away in Lehighton, and Heritage Hill Senior Community in Weatherly handles assisted living six miles down the road. Daytime social life centers on the Jim Thorpe/Penn-Kidder Senior Center, which serves lunch Monday through Friday, and live music lovers turn out at the Mauch Chunk Opera House. The 6,107 acres of Lehigh Gorge State Park along the Lehigh River handle the rest of the day.
Ephrata
Ephrata sits 13 miles northeast of Lancaster in Lancaster County with about a quarter of its residents 60 or older. The borough has averaged just one homicide and three aggravated assaults a year over the last five years, with property crime rates below the national average. The biggest practical advantage is medical: WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital is right in town, and Ephrata Manor handles skilled nursing care if needed. The Ephrata Senior Center runs meals, activities, and social programming. The Green Dragon Farmers Market and Auction, one of the largest flea markets on the East Coast, opens Fridays and brings out a wide cross-section of the town. The Ephrata Cloister National Historic Landmark covers the borough's 18th-century German Pietist roots.
North East
The number of seniors aged 75 or older in Erie County has grown by 35% over the last 20 years, and the borough of North East, 14 miles outside Erie, has built infrastructure to match. The North East Senior Center handles meals and socialization, and Parkside at North East is a senior living community. About 30% of the borough's residents are over 60. Crime stays low: one homicide and an average of two aggravated assaults a year over the last five years, with similarly low property crime. Freeport Beach on the shores of Lake Erie is a quiet evening draw. UPMC Hamot in Erie covers the more serious medical needs, 14 miles away.
Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown is 20 miles northwest of Lancaster with 26% of residents over 60 and one of the lower crime rates in the county. The FBI counts just two homicides over the last five years and an average of three aggravated assaults a year, and property crime numbers run below both state and national averages. The senior infrastructure runs deep. The Conewago Recreation Trail covers five miles between Elizabethtown and the Lebanon County line and draws walkers most days. The Masonic Village Farm Market is a regular pickup spot for fruits, produce, and baked goods. The Elizabethtown Area Senior Center programs activities for residents 60 and older, and Masonic Village at Elizabethtown handles full-service retirement living. Healthcare is nine miles away at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey.
New Hope
Almost half of New Hope's population is over 60, which is the strongest concentration on this list and is reflected in the local infrastructure. This Bucks County borough sits 15 miles from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and 40 miles north of Philadelphia, with a crime rate 50% below the national average, no homicides over the last five years, and an average of just two aggravated assaults a year. The Birches at New Hope handles senior living from independent through memory care. Capital Health Medical Center is nine miles away in Hopewell Township, NJ, and Doylestown Hospital is 11 miles away. Meals on Wheels of Central Bucks County serves in-home meals where needed, and the Central Bucks Senior Activity Center in Doylestown is 10 miles away. The Bucks County Playhouse books live performances downtown, and Main Street is pedestrian-friendly with shops like The Cat Walk at New Hope.
Collegeville
Collegeville is 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, with 22% of residents over 60. The borough's draw is a combination of city access and medical proximity. Eagleville Hospital is three miles away in Eagleville, and Jefferson Einstein Montgomery Hospital is six miles away in East Norriton. The crime numbers help, too: zero homicides and an average of one aggravated assault a year over the last five years, with property crime below the national average. The Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College handles the cultural side. Providence Town Center has the Movie Tavern and a strong restaurant cluster including Plaza Azteca. Morningside House of Collegeville runs supportive senior living, and the Phoenixville Area Senior Center is five miles away.
Gallitzin
Gallitzin sits atop one of the Allegheny Mountains in Cambria County, 15 miles from Altoona and its UPMC Altoona medical center, with 27% of residents over 60. The crime numbers run as low as anywhere on this list: zero homicides, an average of one aggravated assault a year over the last five years, and negligible property crime rates. The Gallitzin Tunnels are the borough's signature attraction, built starting in 1854 with a third tunnel added in the early 20th century, and still in active rail use today. Gallitzin State Forest provides walking trails and quiet hours outdoors. The Northern Cambria Senior Center, 20 miles away, handles social programming, and Emerald Estates in Gallitzin runs supportive independent living.
Camp Hill
Cumberland County made AARP's 2025 list of the 100 best places to retire, and Camp Hill is its standard-bearer. Just four miles from the state capital of Harrisburg, the borough averages two aggravated assaults a year and zero homicides over the last five years, with property crime below the national average. Twenty-six percent of residents are over 60. Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center is right in Camp Hill. The Heinz-Menaker Senior Center in Harrisburg is the regular meeting spot for programs and activities. The Maurice K. Goddard Trail loops 2.3 miles from Willow Park for daily walking, and the Market on Market Farmer's Market runs Tuesdays from May through November. The Woods at Cedar Run handles full-service senior living locally.
Brentwood
Brentwood, in Allegheny County six miles south of Pittsburgh, runs on its proximity to two major medical centers. UPMC Montefiore and UPMC Presbyterian are both close by in the city. More than a quarter of Brentwood's population is over 60, and the borough averages three aggravated assaults a year and zero homicides over the last five years, with property crime below the national average. Brentwood Park has a swimming pool and walking track. Heritage Manor handles assisted living. The Elizabeth Seton Center in Pittsburgh runs activities and meals for residents 60 and older. Drive-Thru Senior Fairs run a few times a year, where Brentwood seniors can pick up information on state programs and local health resources without leaving their cars.
Westtown Township
Westtown Township in Chester County is four miles from West Chester and feels worlds quieter. Thirty-two percent of residents are over 60, the highest concentration on this list outside New Hope. Chester County Hospital-Penn Medicine is three miles away in West Chester. The crime numbers stay low: an average of two aggravated assaults a year and just two homicides over the last five years, with property crime far below the national average. Oakbourne Park has more than four miles of walking trails. The West Chester Area Senior Center is three miles into the city for social programs. The Westtown Amish Market in Westtown Village Shopping Center handles produce, meats, baked goods, and a long list of services. Sunrise of Westtown runs assisted living and memory care.
Murrysville
Murrysville, in Westmoreland County 20 miles east of Pittsburgh, has 38% of its population over 60 and runs the lowest crime numbers on this list outside Gallitzin: zero homicides over the last five years and an average of one aggravated assault a year, with low property crime. The combined Lillian Kellman Nature Reserve and Peter and Victoria Skena Nature Reserve cover 78 acres with easy walking trails, a small stream, and steady wildlife. The Murrysville Senior Citizens Center, in the rear of the Community Center building on Carson Avenue, runs weekday programming. The town's Meals on Wheels program handles in-home delivery. Medical care is three miles away at UPMC East in Monroeville. Redstone Highlands Communities runs senior living from independent through memory care.
What These Pennsylvania Communities Offer Older Adults
Each of these eleven boroughs and townships pairs low FBI crime numbers with the kind of practical infrastructure retirement actually requires: a local hospital or one within a short drive, a senior center serving meals, walking trails or a state park within reach, and a senior living option for when independent living isn't the answer anymore. Whether the priority is mountain quiet (Jim Thorpe, Gallitzin), suburb of a major city (Brentwood, Murrysville, Camp Hill, Collegeville), or full-service Lancaster County (Ephrata, Elizabethtown), the combinations are different but the math holds.
