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Lebanon, Pennsylvania

Lebanon is a small city of about 26,000 people in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. It's the county seat. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.2 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Philadelphia, is about 72 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
26,479
down 1% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$156,500
Lebanon County prices up 26% since 2022
Household income
$48,456
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Lebanon area
93.2
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Wellspan Good Samaritan Hospital
To Philadelphia
72 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.8% below the U.S. average in the Lebanon metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood46 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 1.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 11.6 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town12 public schools: 8 elementary, 2 middle and 2 high schools.
  • A hospital close byWellspan Good Samaritan Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityPhiladelphia is about 72 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 Lebanon 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
$156,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 26%Lebanon County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$992 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$48,456U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
47%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,365 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940
40%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
3%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
93.2U.S. average = 100 (the Lebanon 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 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Lebanon metro area, not Lebanon 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
26,4792020: 26,756
Median age
37.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
24%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
16%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
5%U.S.: 6%

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 (22%); retail (17%); manufacturing (13%)
Unemployment rate
10%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
21 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
23%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Wellspan Good Samaritan Hospital, Lebanon, 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

12 public schools in Lebanon, run by Lebanon SD and Cornwall-Lebanon 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
66%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
84%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
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
13 a year
Nights at or below freezing
120 a year
Rain and melted snow
46.4 inches a year
Snow
24 inches a year
Elevation
457 feet

Weather station: Lebanon 2 W (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: Lancaster, Philadelphia.

Lebanon County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

9 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Union Canal Tunnel. 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 Trail10 miles
  • Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site35 miles
  • Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument41 miles
  • Gettysburg National Military Park52 miles
  • Valley Forge National Historical Park53 miles

Read about Lebanon's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lebanon?

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

Smaller places

  • Hebron, PA (unincorporated)1,125 people, 1 mile
  • Lebanon South, PA (unincorporated)2,374 people, 1 mile
  • Avon, PA (unincorporated)1,397 people, 2 miles
  • Quentin, PA (unincorporated)720 people, 4 miles
  • West Myerstown, PA (unincorporated)1,465 people, 6 miles
  • Mount Gretna Heights, PA (unincorporated)325 people, 7 miles
  • Mount Gretna, PA193 people, 7 miles
  • Fredericksburg, PA (unincorporated)1,226 people, 7 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. 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.