Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 72/100
B−
Median home value$640,400
Philadelphia $351,900
Median rent$1,886/mo
Philadelphia $1,480/mo
Cost-burdened households27%
Philadelphia 32%
Bala Cynwyd
Montgomery County10,227 residentsLower Merion SD
75
B
Suburbgrade score
1st of 50 Philadelphia suburbs. Strong on schools and amenities, held back by cost of living.
75
Philadelphia median 58
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Bala Cynwyd yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 75 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Bala Cynwyd is like to live in, by category
Bars show Bala Cynwyd against Philadelphia. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 97/100
A+
Within-state proficiency99th pct
Philadelphia median 48th pct
Student–teacher ratio11.1
Philadelphia median 13.0
Graduation rate97%
Philadelphia median 89%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 54/100
C−
Housing cost index154
Philadelphia 100
Eff. tax rate1.28%
Philadelphia 1.37%
Local sales tax6.34%
Philadelphia median 6.34%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 63/100
C+
Mean commute27.6 min
Philadelphia 28.7 min
Under 30 minutes53%
Philadelphia 56%
Transit stops / sq mi6.1
Philadelphia median 0.4 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 90/100
A
Restaurants & cafés175
Philadelphia median 53 · within 2 miles
Groceries8
Philadelphia median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks103
Philadelphia median 41 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 69/100
B−
Median household income$150,000
Philadelphia $91,289
Unemployment5.1%
Philadelphia 5.9%
Professional occupations70%
Philadelphia 49%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Bala Cynwyd yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Bala Cynwyd on cost of living
Bala Cynwyd's weakest grade is C−. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCost of livingOverall
Wilmington25 mi from Bala CynwydA− 54 C− Philadelphia5 mi from Bala CynwydB 49 D+ Levittown22 mi from Bala CynwydB 60 C Chester14 mi from Bala CynwydB 41 D− Lansdale16 mi from Bala CynwydB 65 C+ Willow Grove11 mi from Bala CynwydB− 68 B− Cost-of-living index composed in-house from housing cost, utilities, effective property tax and local sales tax · Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Effective property tax: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Bala Cynwyd
Is Bala Cynwyd, PA a good place to live?
Bala Cynwyd scores 75 out of 100, 1st of 50 Philadelphia suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on cost of living. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Bala Cynwyd expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C−. The median home is $640,400, 82% above the Philadelphia median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.28%. $1,886/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Bala Cynwyd?
Schools grade A+. The districts serving Bala Cynwyd sit at the 99th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 97% graduation rate and a 11.1 student–teacher ratio. Bala Cynwyd is served by Lower Merion SD. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Bala Cynwyd?
The mean commute is 27.6 min, with 53% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 32% working from home. Transit density is 6.1 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Bala Cynwyd?
Within two miles there are 8 groceries, 175 restaurants and cafés and 103 parks, which grades A on amenities.
Are the homes in Bala Cynwyd old or new?
The median home in Bala Cynwyd was built in 1960 — older than the Philadelphia median of 1966. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 59% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.