Living in Hershey, 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 4.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town7 public schools: 5 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close byMilton S Hershey Medical Center is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityBaltimore is about 68 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 Hershey 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.

What kind of town

A suburb, not a stand-alone small town

Hershey runs into the built-up area around Harrisburg (Census Bureau, 2020 urban areas). We include suburbs under 20,000 people because some still feel like small towns, but daily life here is closer to the suburbs than to the towns Frank and Dave's book describes. Weigh it against towns farther out.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $379,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 23%Dauphin County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,268 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $78,587U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 54%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $4,810 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940: 10%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 2%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 Hershey 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, 2020-2024 Census survey: 14,242The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 38.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 50%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 14%U.S.: 6%
College students: 10%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 (36%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 16 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 16%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 18%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Milton S Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, 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

7 public schools in Hershey, run by Derry Township SD and Lower Dauphin SD.

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: 83%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 92%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: 23°F
July average high: 87°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 22 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 101 a year
Rain and melted snow: 44.2 inches a year
Snow: 30 inches a year
Elevation: 400 feet

Weather station: Middletown Harrisburg Intl Ap (9 miles 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

Harrisburg, PACity of 51,00013

Baltimore, MDMetro of 2.9 million68

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: Harrisburg, 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

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Milton S. Hershey Mansion. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Appalachian National Scenic Trail12 miles
Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument28 miles
Gettysburg National Military Park41 miles
Eisenhower National Historic Site46 miles
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site46 miles

Read about Hershey's history on Wikipedia.

Know Hershey?

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

Campbelltown, PA6,100 people, 3 miles
Palmyra, PA7,800 people, 3 miles
Hummelstown, PA4,500 people, 4 miles
Skyline View, PA4,700 people, 6 miles
Rutherford, PA6,900 people, 7 miles
Middletown, PA9,800 people, 7 miles

Smaller places

Palmdale, PA (unincorporated)1,542 people, 2 miles
Union Deposit, PA (unincorporated)808 people, 2 miles
Timber Hills, PA (unincorporated)306 people, 9 miles
Mount Gretna, PA193 people, 9 miles
Oberlin, PA (unincorporated)269 people, 9 miles
Mount Gretna Heights, PA (unincorporated)325 people, 10 miles
Bressler, PA (unincorporated)2,060 people, 10 miles
Enhaut, PA (unincorporated)1,197 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.