Living in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.3% below the U.S. average in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood320 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 6.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 18 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town37 public schools: 23 elementary, 8 middle, 5 high schools and 1 other.
A hospital close byUPMC Pinnacle Hospitals is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityBaltimore is about 69 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Harrisburg meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $124,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 23%Dauphin County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,062 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $48,099U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 37%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,370 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940: 43%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 98.7U.S. average = 100 (the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 23% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area, not Harrisburg alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 50,5222020: 50,071
Median age: 33.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 13%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 28%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 26%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 8%U.S.: 6%
College students: 5%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (24%); professional and business services (12%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Unemployment rate: 11%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 16%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 31%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: UPMC Pinnacle Hospitals, Harrisburg, PA, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

37 public schools in Harrisburg, run by Central Dauphin SD and Harrisburg City SD.

Colleges in or next to town: Harrisburg Area Community College (10,000 to 19,999 students); Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (1,000 to 4,999 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Pennsylvania's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet: 68%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 86%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low: 22°F
July average high: 85°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 18 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 111 a year
Rain and melted snow: 45.2 inches a year
Snow: 24 inches a year
Elevation: 334 feet

Weather station: Harrisburg 1 NE (1 mile away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Lancaster, PACity of 58,00035

Baltimore, MDMetro of 2.9 million69

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Lancaster, Baltimore.

Dauphin County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

41 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex (Boundary Revision), Harrisburg Central Railroad Station and Trainshed, John Harris Mansion and State Capitol Building, Pennsylvania. Three are National Historic Landmarks, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Appalachian National Scenic Trail9 miles
Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument16 miles
Gettysburg National Military Park33 miles
Eisenhower National Historic Site38 miles
Catoctin Mountain Park51 miles

Campus life. Check Harrisburg University of Science and Technology's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Harrisburg's history on Wikipedia.

Know Harrisburg?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Wormleysburg, PA3,100 people, 2 miles
Penbrook, PA3,200 people, 2 miles
Lemoyne, PA4,800 people, 2 miles
Progress, PA11,000 people, 3 miles
Paxtang, PA1,600 people, 3 miles
Enola, PA6,500 people, 3 miles

Smaller places

West Fairview, PA (unincorporated)1,208 people, 2 miles
New Market, PA (unincorporated)718 people, 4 miles
Enhaut, PA (unincorporated)1,197 people, 4 miles
Oberlin, PA (unincorporated)269 people, 4 miles
Bressler, PA (unincorporated)2,060 people, 5 miles
Dauphin, PA790 people, 7 miles
Messiah College, PA (unincorporated)2,329 people, 10 miles
Lewisberry, PA378 people, 10 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.