A new report by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania and the state Treasury Department examines trends in PA 529 accounts, which offer families savings on post-secondary tuition. It finds savings are more highly concentrated in urban counties than in rural counties such as Indiana. Between 2018 and March of last year, more than 60 percent of all PA 529 contributions went to urban counties, and rural students received an average $56 less per quarter than those in urban counties.
There were 10.5 beneficiaries in Indiana County per 1,000 residents, which is just above the lowest of the three levels identified. Neighboring Armstrong, Cambria, and Clearfield counties were in the lowest category and Westmoreland County is in the second level. The only western Pennsylvania counties in the highest category are Butler, Allegheny, and Washington.
The report concludes that contributions to PA 529 accounts are significantly lower in rural counties and part of the reason may have to do with the level of education of those living there. Counties with higher levels of educational attainment had higher contributions to 529 accounts.
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