State College consistently ranks among the best college towns of Pennsylvania and the U.S. With a borough (city) population of just over 40,000 and a metropolitan statistical area population of around 160,000, the home of the Pennsylvania State University, aka “Penn State,” feels like a small town, yet offers a range of outdoor and cultural amenities to residents and visitors alike.

Located in rural, central Pennsylvania, the pedestrian and bike commuter-friendly State College is surrounded by a tremendous amount of easily accessible public lands. In a short 10-15 minute drive or a slightly longer pedal, you’ll be outside of town and at the edge of the 96,975-acre Rothrock State Forest, a year-round venue for outdoor recreation lovers. Go a bit further, and you’ll get to enjoy another gem: the 194,602-acre Bald Eagle State Forest. No less than eight Pennsylvania State Parks lie within close proximity (30-minute drive) of State College.

Whether you love to ride your bike on quiet, tree-lined, paved town streets or country roads, crush miles of lightly traveled gravel, or shred singletrack mountain bike trails filled with renowned East Coast Rocks, you can’t go wrong riding a bike in Centre County and other adjacent counties. It’ll take you years to explore its abundant network of local roads, greenways, and trails.

Into outdoor pursuits besides riding a bike? Central Pennsylvania boasts countless opportunities for hiking, trail running, bouldering, golfing, camping, and backpacking. Hunters flock to nearby Pennsylvania State Forests and State Game Lands each year in pursuit of deer, pheasants, grouse, and turkey. World-class trout fishing entertains anglers along many local spring-fed creeks. And water sports enthusiasts spend summer weekends kayaking, canoeing, paddle boarding, boating, or swimming in local lakes and creeks. Even moto and dual sport riders enjoy numerous on and off-road riding opportunities in the region.

With its unique position deep in the midst of what locals affectionately call “Happy Valley,” State College sits at the geological intersection of the Appalachian Plateau and the Ridge and Valley portion of the Appalachian mountains. Its endless ridges and valleys and generally higher elevations make it more consistently cooler, cloudier, and greener than many parts of Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic.

In fact, State College’s humid continental climate brings four distinct seasons and an average 40 inches of annual rainfall. In spring, a brilliant, fresh green appears in every fertile, farm-filled valley and marches inexorably up adjacent mountainsides. The area’s mostly deciduous forests then turn into a lush, dense Appalachian green for the summer. Fall brings cool, crisp temperatures and a colorful annual display of changing red, orange, and yellow leaves. Finally in winter, the views open up for miles and miles as the trees lose their leaves, although even in the depths of winters, patches of mountain laurel, rhododendrons and hemlocks create reassuring oases of green. Most winters bring snow suitable for consistently carving turns at the local Tussey Mountain ski hill, just minutes from downtown State College, or for occasional backcountry exploration on skis or snowshoes thanks to ~45 inches of average annual snowfall.

As the home to the main campus of Pennsylvania’s largest state university with more than 40,000+ students, the population of State College skews young, with ~25% between 20 and 30 years old. Immediately surrounding the university, you’ll find a vibrant, college town atmosphere, especially during the academic year, with a plethora of casual bars, restaurants, breweries, coffee shops, bike shops, and cafes and a surprisingly lively arts and music scene. By contrast, townie summers are conspicuously quiet and peaceful, with an annual mid-summer, five-day Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts interspersed to liven things up. And, of course, with the fall comes a half dozen big home football game weekends that draw tens of thousands of enthusiastic Penn State Football alumni and fans from all over.

With its highly educated population, area residents enjoy excellent local public schools and family-friendly activities. State College is a generally safe community with low crime rates. Its cost of living is in line with the national average. Metro area median household income was $66,789 in 2021 (the most recently available data), and as of the spring of 2023, both the median listing and sold home prices were ~$485K for an average home price per square foot of $196. The largest ethnic groups in State College are Non-Hispanic White (~85%), Asian (~6%), Black or African American (4%), and Hispanic (3%).

Located within four hours of New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington, DC, city lovers have several options for weekend-long, big city excursions.