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Towns / Pennsylvania

Royalton, Pennsylvania

Royalton is a suburb of about 1,100 people in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, in the Harrisburg area. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 2.5 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 61 miles away as the crow flies.

Suburb of Harrisburg

Population
1,133
down 0.4% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$166,300
Dauphin County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$67,500
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Harrisburg area
98.7
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
8 miles
Hershey, PA
To Baltimore
61 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 2.5 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 Royalton 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 town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Middletown Area Hs, about 2 miles away.
  • A hospital close byMilton S Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBaltimore is about 61 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 Royalton 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

Royalton 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
$166,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Dauphin County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,106 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$67,500U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
74%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$2,572 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940
36%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
9%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 Royalton 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
1,1332020: 1,137
Median age
44.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
22%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%
College students
9%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 (16%); manufacturing (12%)
Unemployment rate
0%U.S.: 5%
Below the poverty line
12%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 8 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

1 public school in Royalton, run by Middletown Area SD. The nearest public high school is Middletown Area Hs, about 2 miles away.

Colleges in or next to town: Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg (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
75%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
82%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
318 feet

Weather station: Middletown Harrisburg Intl Ap (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: 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail18 miles
  • Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument24 miles
  • Gettysburg National Military Park33 miles
  • Eisenhower National Historic Site38 miles
  • Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site50 miles

Campus life. Check Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Royalton's history on Wikipedia.

Know Royalton?

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

  • Goldsboro, PA931 people, 3 miles
  • Falmouth, PA (unincorporated)521 people, 4 miles
  • York Haven, PA687 people, 5 miles
  • Bressler, PA (unincorporated)2,060 people, 6 miles
  • Oberlin, PA (unincorporated)269 people, 6 miles
  • Enhaut, PA (unincorporated)1,197 people, 6 miles
  • New Market, PA (unincorporated)718 people, 7 miles
  • Bainbridge, PA (unincorporated)1,376 people, 8 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.