Pros and Cons of Living in Allentown
Allentown's genuine trade-off is a real, current comeback economy (Air Products' and PPL's headquarters presence, a substantial logistics boom, downtown's NIZ redevelopment) and Pennsylvania's genuinely low flat state income tax, against a real, disclosed additional local EIT layer, a genuinely complex and disclosed-wide-spread property tax system, documented flood risk, and a real, honestly-disclosed city-proper income/poverty gap this record does not let the comeback story alone obscure.
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Learn morePro: A Real, Current Comeback Economy With Specific, Named Anchors
As established on the base record, Air Products and PPL Corporation both maintain real, current headquarters presence in Allentown, and the Lehigh Valley's real logistics-and-warehouse boom has driven regional logistics employment past 30,000 jobs -- genuine, substantial economic-momentum advantages, anchored by specific, named companies rather than a vague growth narrative.
Pro: Pennsylvania's Genuinely Low, Simple Flat State Income Tax
Pennsylvania's flat 3.07% state income tax is genuinely low and simple relative to many graduated-bracket states -- a real, genuine cost advantage, though this record discloses this alongside Allentown's own additional combined local EIT and Local Services Tax rather than presenting the state rate in isolation.
Pro: A Real, Below-National-Average 2024 Crime Rate
As detailed on the crime-safety topic page, Allentown's 2024 crime rate ran meaningfully below the national average across every major category checked this pass -- a real, genuinely favorable finding this project states plainly.
Con: A Genuinely Complex Property Tax System, and Real, Documented Flood Risk
As detailed on the property-taxes and flood-hurricane-risk topic pages, Lehigh County's 2013-base-year property assessment mechanic produces a real, wide, disclosed spread in cited effective tax rates (~1.48%-2.87%), and flooding along the Lehigh River and Little Lehigh Creek is the region's most significant documented natural hazard, affecting a real, disclosed share of Allentown's land area.
Con: A Real, Disclosed City-Proper Income/Poverty Gap and Additional Local Tax Layer
As detailed on the jobs-economy and taxes topic pages, Allentown's city-proper median household income and poverty rate both run meaningfully worse than national figures, and Allentown residents carry a real, additional combined 1.975% local EIT plus a flat $52/year Local Services Tax on top of Pennsylvania's low state rate -- real costs this record does not let the low state income-tax headline alone obscure.
Key takeaways
- Pro: a real, current comeback economy anchored by specific, named employers (Air Products, PPL Corporation) and a substantial regional logistics boom (30,000+ jobs).
- Pro: Pennsylvania's genuinely low, simple flat 3.07% state income tax -- though not the whole local tax picture for Allentown residents specifically.
- Pro: a real, below-national-average 2024 crime rate across every major category checked this pass.
- Con: Lehigh County's genuinely complex, 2013-base-year property tax system (real, disclosed spread ~1.48%-2.87%) and documented flood risk along the Lehigh River/Little Lehigh Creek.
- Con: a real, disclosed city-proper income/poverty gap, plus Allentown's own additional combined 1.975% local EIT and flat $52/year Local Services Tax.
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