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Lykens, Pennsylvania

Lykens is a small town of about 1,900 people in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 1.5 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, Baltimore, is about 87 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
1,856
down 0.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$107,300
Dauphin County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$73,318
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Harrisburg area
98.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
20 miles
Hershey, PA
To Baltimore
87 mi
straight line

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 1.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Lykens itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 middle. No public high school in town: the nearest is Williams Valley Jshs, about 6 miles away.
  • A hospital close byMilton S Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, about 20 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBaltimore is about 87 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 Lykens 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
$107,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Dauphin County, 2022 to 2025
Typical household income
$73,318U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill
$1,627 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built since 2010
0%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 Lykens 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
1,8562020: 1,860
Median age
44.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
17%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
22%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
13%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
4%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 (20%); retail (12%)
Unemployment rate
4%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
30 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
19%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: Milton S Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, about 20 miles away. 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

2 public schools in Lykens, run by Upper Dauphin Area SD. The nearest public high school is Williams Valley Jshs, about 6 miles away.

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 any internet subscription
77%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
20°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
14 a year
Nights at or below freezing
128 a year
Rain and melted snow
50.9 inches a year
Snow
28 inches a year
Elevation
716 feet

Weather station: Dehart Dam (8 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: Milton S Hershey Medical Center, 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.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail6 miles
  • Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument35 miles
  • Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site54 miles
  • Gettysburg National Military Park56 miles
  • Eisenhower National Historic Site60 miles

Read about Lykens's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lykens?

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

  • Wiconsico, PA (unincorporated)734 people, 1 mile
  • Gratz, PA750 people, 3 miles
  • Berrysburg, PA323 people, 6 miles
  • Klingerstown, PA (unincorporated)105 people, 7 miles
  • Pillow, PA288 people, 8 miles
  • Reinerton, PA (unincorporated)358 people, 9 miles
  • Orwin, PA (unincorporated)200 people, 9 miles
  • Muir, PA (unincorporated)572 people, 10 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.