Considering buying a home in Centre County? These 4 areas could offer affordability

If you’re considering taking the plunge into State College-area homeownership, you should consider where in Centre County you’re buying.

A Centre Daily Times analysis of recent housing data shows affordability varies depending on where in the county you’re looking to buy. Some areas remain within reach.

Here’s a quick digest if you’re in the market to buy.

FULL STORY: Housing affordability is decreasing in parts of Centre County. See the data

Home prices are growing faster than wages

Countywide, the average sticker price of a home is a bit more than double what it was in January 2017. Average wages, meanwhile, are only 20% higher over the same period, according to data from Realtor.com, the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That gap has widened recently. Average wages have flattened in Centre County since 2022, while they have steadily risen across the Pennsylvania and nation.

It’s worth noting averages are more susceptible to influence by extreme values, especially in smaller datasets. In Centre County, skyrocketing homes outside of State College and low wages earned by student workers can affect the figures, for example.

Where in Centre County are homes still within reach?

Localized data from the 2024 American Community Survey, released in January by the U.S. Census Bureau, shows median home values outpacing median household income, though by how much depends on the region.

Four Centre County regions remain within historical standards for affordability: three times the median income or less.

• Upper Bald Eagle Valley: Taylor, Worth, Huston and Union townships, plus Port Matilda and Unionville
• Moshannon Valley: Rush Township and Philipsburg
• Mountaintop: Burnside and Snow Shoe townships, plus Snow Shoe borough
• Lower Bald Eagle Valley: Boggs, Howard, Liberty and Curtin townships, plus Howard borough and Milesburg

Affordability can vary within regions. Median home values in Port Matilda, Philipsburg, Milesburg and Boggs each eclipsed the three-times-the-median-income mark, for instance.

Where homebuying is getting harder

Centre County’s southeastern half — the Nittany Valley, Penns Valley and the Centre Region — are generally less affordable.

The barrier of entry to homeownership rose in all but two of the 18 municipalities included in those regions from 2019, and only Miles Township was below the three-times-the-income affordability mark.

State College, heavily influenced by its student population, is an outlier among Centre County municipalities for relative home costs.

Disclosure: This takeaways file is based on the reporting of a Centre Daily Times journalist but produced using AI. A CDT reporter and editor edited this story for accuracy. You can read more about our AI policy here.

This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 11:57 AM.