What is the population of Swarthmore borough?

Swarthmore borough has 6,524 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #188 of 2,002 in Pennsylvania.

What is the median household income in Swarthmore borough?

Median household income in Swarthmore borough is $146,992 a year, 87.2% above the national figure of $78,538.

How much does it cost to rent or buy in Swarthmore borough?

Median gross rent is $1,493 a month and the median home value is $557,900, so rent absorbs about 12.2% of median household income.

Is Swarthmore borough affordable compared with the rest of the US?

Homes cost about 3.8× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Swarthmore borough is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 12.2% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.

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Pennsylvania · Census place 75648

Swarthmore, PA population, income and ZIP codes

Quick answer

The population of the city of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania (Swarthmore, PA — Census place “Swarthmore borough”) is 6,524 residents, ranking #188 of 2002 places in Pennsylvania. Median household income is $146,992, the median home is worth $557,900 and median gross rent runs $1,493 a month. Looking for the Swarthmore Pennsylvania ZIP code list? 1 ZIP codes serve Swarthmore, PA: 19081.

Population: 6,524Swarthmore borough residents
Median household income: $146,992Past 12 months, inflation adjusted
Median home value: $557,900Owner-occupied units
Median gross rent: $1,493Rent plus utilities, monthly
Median age: 34.4 yrsAll residents
Homeownership rate: 74.5%Owner-occupied households

Swarthmore ZIP codes (Pennsylvania)

Census ZCTAs whose delivery area overlaps Swarthmore.

The Swarthmore PA ZIP code list below covers 1 ZIP code. Open any one for its population, income, housing and rent profile.

19081

What the numbers mean in Swarthmore borough

Housing cost measured against local earnings.

A household earning the Swarthmore borough median would spend about 12.2% of gross income on the median rent. The 30% mark is the federal threshold for cost burden, so anything above it signals a stretched rental market. The median home costs 3.8× the median household income; nationally that ratio sits near 4.5×. Poverty affects 2.8% of residents and 74.5% of households own their home.

Source: US Census Bureau, ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates · rates as published for 2019-2023 ACS 5-year

Swarthmore borough, PA in context

How this area compares with national benchmarks.

Swarthmore borough is a mid-size town in Pennsylvania, with 6,524 residents counted in the Census American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, which places it #188 of 2,002 ranked by population — larger than 90% of them. The median age here is 34.4 years against 39.1 nationally, a slightly younger profile than the country as a whole. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.

Households in Swarthmore borough earn a median of $146,992 a year, 87.2% above the national figure of $78,538 and 107% above the $71,118 median for the 982 Pennsylvania cities we cover. This figure covers the household, not the worker: two people on ordinary wages at one address outrank a single professional in the same table. Poverty reaches 2.8% of residents here, less than half the 12.4% national rate.

The typical owner-occupied home in Swarthmore borough is valued at $557,900, 83.9% above the national figure and 189% above the $193,200 peer median, while median gross rent runs $1,493 a month, 6.2% above the national figure, or roughly $17,916 across a full year. A household on the local median income would put about 12.2% of gross pay toward that rent against the federal 30% cost-burden threshold, so renting here is cheap relative to what people here earn. The home-price-to-income ratio works out to 3.8×, against roughly 3.9× nationally, so buying is easier here than in the average US market. 74.5% of occupied homes are owner-occupied versus 65% nationally, so the market leans toward owners. Gross rent folds in the utilities a tenant pays separately, so it is closer to the real monthly outlay than a headline rent figure.

Every value on this page is published directly by the Census for this area — nothing is modelled or interpolated. Small-area estimates still carry wider margins of error than state or national figures, so check the linked ACS tables before relying on them for lending, appraisal or legal work.

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Frequently asked questions

Common questions about this area.

What is the population of Swarthmore borough?: Swarthmore borough has 6,524 residents on Census ACS 2019-2023 ACS 5-year estimates, ranking #188 of 2,002 in Pennsylvania.
What is the median household income in Swarthmore borough?: Median household income in Swarthmore borough is $146,992 a year, 87.2% above the national figure of $78,538.
How much does it cost to rent or buy in Swarthmore borough?: Median gross rent is $1,493 a month and the median home value is $557,900, so rent absorbs about 12.2% of median household income.
Is Swarthmore borough affordable compared with the rest of the US?: Homes cost about 3.8× the local median income here versus roughly 3.9× nationally, so Swarthmore borough is more affordable to buy in than the typical US market, and rent takes 12.2% of median income against the 30% cost-burden line.
How current is this Swarthmore borough data?: All figures come from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 ACS 5-year five-year estimates. Places under 65,000 residents only appear in the five-year release, never the one-year file, so these values pool sixty months of responses and lag the current year by design.