Community Corner

King Of Prussia Named Among America's 'Best Places To Live' In 2026

The ranking looked at access to work, transit, walkability, and more. Here's how it stacked up against the rest of Montgomery County.

King of Prussia placed 5th in Montgomery County, 19th in Pennsylvania, and 290th in the United States in the new Niche "best places to live" ranking for 2026.
King of Prussia placed 5th in Montgomery County, 19th in Pennsylvania, and 290th in the United States in the new Niche "best places to live" ranking for 2026. (Montgomery County PA)

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA — King of Prussia has been named one of the best places to live in America in 2026, according to a new ranking released this week by the review site Niche.

KOP placed 5th in Montgomery County, 19th in Pennsylvania, and 290th in the United States. More than 18,000 communities were included in the full ranking.

Niche said this year's top-ranked places are smaller, walkable communities within major metro areas, giving residents access to jobs, amenities, and transit while maintaining connected neighborhoods.

Find out what's happening in Norristownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

SEE MAPS: New Multiuse Trail To Connect 6 Municipalities Across Montgomery County

King of Prussia may not have fit that description twenty or even 10 years ago, but a growing number of parks, an interconnected network of trails, and even a proposed passenger rail line have changed perceptions. The area has attracted major corporations and jobs, while the King of Prussia Mall has continued to grow even as other brick and mortar malls around the country die out.

Find out what's happening in Norristownfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Niche says the rankings are based on data from a wide range of public data sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, combined with millions of resident reviews.

Niche also produces popular lists and rankings of school districts every year, and their rating ideology has been heavily criticized by some who say it relies too heavily on the very subjective "resident review" portion.

See related: That 'Best Places' Ranking Revisited: Is This Really The Best Of Philly (And America)?

Other criticisms say that relying only on data and Internet reviews leaves out a human element. For instance, the lists claim to prioritize walkable communities, but local areas like Chesterbrook (12th nationally) and Penn Wynne are surrounded by highways and are without walkable access to groceries and restaurants.

Beyond walkability, other traits not easily quantified by data include bikeability, arts, culture, diversity, and community building initiatives.

Here's a glance at the 35 Montgomery County communities that cracked the top 3,000, with their national rank in parenthesis.

  1. Ardmore (7)
  2. Penn Wynne (9)
  3. Conshohocken (131)
  4. Narberth (237)
  5. King of Prussia (290)
  6. Jenkintown (350)
  7. Spring House (418)
  8. Blue Bell (596)
  9. West Conshohocken (649)
  10. Fort Washington (715)
  11. Trappe (1008)
  12. Wyndmoor (1031)
  13. Wyncote (1047)
  14. Upper Providence (1076)
  15. Glenside (1176)
  16. Bryn Athyn (1249)
  17. Plymouth Meeting (1369)
  18. Bridgeport (1402)
  19. Oreland (1582)
  20. Ambler (1616)
  21. North Wales (1658)
  22. Montgomeryville (1727)
  23. Upper Providence (1787)
  24. Collegeville (1975)
  25. Flourtown (2055)
  26. Perkiomen Township (2232)
  27. Maple Glen (2235)
  28. Lower Moreland (2265)
  29. Trooper (2388)
  30. Springfield Township (2431)
  31. Audubon (2607)
  32. Evansburg (2685)
  33. Limerick (2721)
  34. Skippack (2815)
  35. Hatfield (3010)

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.