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Quarryville, Pennsylvania

Quarryville is a small town of about 2,900 people in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.7 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 48 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
2,871
up 1.2% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$293,100
Lancaster County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$79,744
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Lancaster area
98.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
13 miles
Lancaster, PA
To Baltimore
48 mi
straight line

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 3.7 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood0 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 0 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 3.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town5 public schools: 2 elementary, 2 middle and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byLancaster General Hospital in Lancaster, about 13 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBaltimore is about 48 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 Quarryville 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
$293,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Lancaster County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,172 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$79,744U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
58%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,299 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940
19%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%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 Quarryville 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
2,8712020: 2,837
Median age
40.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
16%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
27%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
8%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%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (11%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
5%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
14%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, about 13 miles away. 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

5 public schools in Quarryville, run by Solanco 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
77%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
89%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
23 a year
Nights at or below freezing
125 a year
Rain and melted snow
48.4 inches a year
Snow
18 inches a year
Elevation
525 feet

Weather station: Octoraro Lake (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

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 General Hospital, Lancaster, 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

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places, including Robert Fulton Birthplace. One is a National Historic Landmark, the country's highest honor for a historic place.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site29 miles
  • First State National Historical Park31 miles
  • Valley Forge National Historical Park39 miles
  • Hampton National Historic Site40 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail42 miles

Read about Quarryville's history on Wikipedia.

Know Quarryville?

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

  • Georgetown, PA (unincorporated)784 people, 5 miles
  • Kirkwood, PA (unincorporated)307 people, 5 miles
  • Refton, PA (unincorporated)321 people, 6 miles
  • Paradise, PA (unincorporated)1,091 people, 8 miles
  • Lampeter, PA (unincorporated)2,140 people, 8 miles
  • Wakefield, PA (unincorporated)573 people, 8 miles
  • Soudersburg, PA (unincorporated)592 people, 8 miles
  • Little Britain, PA (unincorporated)439 people, 9 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.