Living in Lower Merion, PA
Suburb in Pennsylvania
Lower Merion is a suburb in Pennsylvania, home to about 64,000 people, with 3.5 million living within 31 mi. Day to day, much of daily life is walkable. Life moves at a fast pace, and homes are a mix of apartments and houses.
Is Lower Merion a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Strong healthcare: 16 top-rated (4–5★) hospitals within 31 mi
- Highly educated: 79% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher, and 8 research universities are within 31 mi
- Strong public schools: test results well above the US average
- Safe: violent crime is 0.1× the US rate (FBI 2019)
👎 Cons
- Few dog parks: 37 within 9 mi
- Cloudier than most places
- Pricey housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $917k, and rent is $2,170 a month
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Lower Merion ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Lower Merion: common questions
What is the cost of living in Lower Merion?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $917k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $2,170 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are close to the US average (index 103, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Lower Merion?
Pennsylvania collects about $1,376 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 1.27% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Lower Merion safe?
Violent crime is well below the national rate (0.1× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Lower Merion?
Public schools in Lower Merion test well above the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 12 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Lower Merion?
Lower Merion has cool winters: winter days average around 44°F and summer days around 86°F, with roughly 8″ of snow a year.
Does Lower Merion get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is moderate, mainly from flooding: 11 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.81 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Lower Merion?
The nearest major airport is PHL, about 11 mi away.
How Lower Merion scores
Each bar compares Lower Merion with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Lower Merion
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in Pennsylvania.
Is Lower Merion right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.