The book's checklist
- Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 1.7% below the U.S. average in the Lancaster metro area.
- More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.4 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
- A safer neighborhood217 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 13.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
- Schools in town37 public schools: 23 elementary, 9 middle and 5 high schools.
- A hospital close byLancaster General Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityBaltimore is about 54 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 Lancaster 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
- $219,500U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 23%Lancaster County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical rent, with utilities
- $1,240 a monthU.S.: $1,413
- Typical household income
- $63,690U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 49%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $3,404 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
- Homes built before 1940
- 54%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 3%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 0%U.S.: 3%
- Everyday prices
- 98.3U.S. average = 100 (the Lancaster 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 Lancaster metro area, not Lancaster 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
- 58,3662020: 57,875
- Median age
- 32.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 10%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 21%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 29%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 9%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 (25%); manufacturing (15%); retail (14%)
- Unemployment rate
- 8%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 10%U.S.: 15%
- Below the poverty line
- 20%U.S.: 12%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: Lancaster General Hospital, Lancaster, PA, in town. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 5 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 Lancaster, run by Lancaster SD and Manheim Township SD.
Colleges in or next to town: Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology (1,000 to 4,999 students); Franklin and Marshall College (1,000 to 4,999 students); Lancaster Bible College (1,000 to 4,999 students); Saint Joseph's University - Lancaster (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
- 73%U.S.: 76%
- Homes with any internet subscription
- 90%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
- 87°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 20 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 111 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 44.1 inches a year
- Snow
- 21 inches a year
- Elevation
- 381 feet
Weather station: Lancaster 2NE Fltr Plt (2 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
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: Reading, Baltimore.
Lancaster 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
77 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Fulton Opera House, the James Buchanan House, the Christian Habeck Farm and the Christian and Emma Herr Farm. Two are National Historic Landmarks, the country's highest honor for a historic place.
National Park Service sites within about an hour:
- Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site30 miles
- Appalachian National Scenic Trail32 miles
- First State National Historical Park41 miles
- Valley Forge National Historical Park44 miles
- Hampton National Historic Site45 miles
Campus life. Check Franklin and Marshall College's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.
Read about Lancaster's history on Wikipedia.
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
- Millersville, PA9,300 people, 4 miles
- Willow Street, PA9,600 people, 4 miles
- East Petersburg, PA4,700 people, 5 miles
- Leola, PA7,400 people, 7 miles
- Mountville, PA3,000 people, 7 miles
- Strasburg, PA3,100 people, 7 miles
Smaller places
- Rohrerstown, PA (unincorporated)706 people, 3 miles
- Lampeter, PA (unincorporated)2,140 people, 4 miles
- Witmer, PA (unincorporated)527 people, 5 miles
- Smoketown, PA (unincorporated)342 people, 5 miles
- Bird-in-Hand, PA (unincorporated)537 people, 6 miles
- Landisville, PA (unincorporated)2,168 people, 6 miles
- Ronks, PA (unincorporated)202 people, 7 miles
- Refton, PA (unincorporated)321 people, 7 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- 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
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- 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
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas
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.