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Strasburg, Pennsylvania

Strasburg is a small town of about 3,100 people in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Its population has held about steady since 2020. A typical home costs about 4.1 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 52 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
3,085
down 0.9% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$354,100
Lancaster County prices up 23% since 2022
Household income
$85,750
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Lancaster area
98.3
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
8 miles
Lancaster, PA
To Baltimore
52 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 4.1 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood1 violent crime was reported in 2025, about 0.3 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 1 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in townNo public schools inside the town. The nearest high school is Lampeter-Strasburg Shs, about 3 miles away.
  • A hospital close byLancaster General Hospital in Lancaster, about 8 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityBaltimore is about 52 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 Strasburg 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
$354,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 23%Lancaster County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,119 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$85,750U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
73%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$5,176 a yearPennsylvania: $3,311
Homes built before 1940
24%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
12%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 Strasburg 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
3,0852020: 3,114
Median age
48.3 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
31%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
18%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
33%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
2%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 (29%); professional and business services (9%)
Unemployment rate
5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
20 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
10%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
4%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 8 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

There are no public schools inside Strasburg itself. The nearest public high school is Lampeter-Strasburg Shs, about 3 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.

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
477 feet

Weather station: Lancaster 2NE Fltr Plt (6 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

27 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Strasburg Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site26 miles
  • First State National Historical Park34 miles
  • Appalachian National Scenic Trail36 miles
  • Valley Forge National Historical Park39 miles
  • Hampton National Historic Site44 miles

Read about Strasburg's history on Wikipedia.

Know Strasburg?

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

  • Soudersburg, PA (unincorporated)592 people, 3 miles
  • Ronks, PA (unincorporated)202 people, 3 miles
  • Lampeter, PA (unincorporated)2,140 people, 3 miles
  • Bird-in-Hand, PA (unincorporated)537 people, 4 miles
  • Gordonville, PA (unincorporated)310 people, 4 miles
  • Smoketown, PA (unincorporated)342 people, 4 miles
  • Paradise, PA (unincorporated)1,091 people, 4 miles
  • Refton, PA (unincorporated)321 people, 4 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.