Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Ephrata is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades A− overall, ranked 370th of 1032 in Pennsylvania, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is safety: it reports less crime per resident than 75% of U.S. towns. It also does better than most on incomes: the median household earns $70K. A typical home there costs about $224K, 2.6 years of the Lancaster metro’s $87K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 97% of U.S. towns, with 6 places on the National Register. 13% of the land in Ephrata is conserved, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 8.2% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Only 79 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns score higher on the outdoors. Its National Register listings include Ephrata Cloister and Connell Mansion.
Where Ephrata beats most towns.
Ephrata Cloister is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 392 in 1880, a low of 392 in 1880, 13,794 in 2020. The archive holds 11 old photos and papers going back to 1701 and 6 maps from 1906 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Ephrata is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ephrata. Close and well known come first.
26 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year
in town MuseumEphrata Cloister
11 mi Theme parkDutch Wonderland
34 mi GardenLongwood Gardens
26 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark Stadium
26 mi MuseumHershey's Chocolate WorldHersheypark: Michael Gray, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ephrata Cloister: 1549bcp at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Dutch Wonderland: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Longwood Gardens: P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hersheypark Stadium: 45BearsFan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hershey's Chocolate World: Phillyfan0419, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ephrata, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Ephrata.
Ephrata is healthier than towns with similar incomes, has homes that are cheap against local pay and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
3.2 miles of trail in 14 parks and preserves. At 0.9 miles per square mile, Ephrata’s trail density is against 0.4 in Pennsylvania’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Ephrata Mountain Conservation Area, at 148 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ephrata Nature Reserve | 1.4 mi | 18 |
| 2. Ephrata Mountain Conservation Area | 0.5 mi | 148 |
| 3. Brickyard Park | 0.3 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Ephrata Area SD.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ephrata MSLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 601 | C |
| Ephrata SHSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,347 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 357 to 235 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 8 reported in 2025, 0.2 per 1,000 residents.
The violent crime rate in Ephrata is 0.2 per 1,000 residents. Pennsylvania has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Ephrata sits closer to the middle.
| Ephrata | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.2 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.7 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Ephrata has chilly, snowy winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 22° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Ephrata for work: only 9% work in town. 5.5% of Ephrata workers work from home. Since 2013, Ephrata has added 433 jobs, to 5,480 in 2023.
| Ephrata | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 5.5% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $70,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.2% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 10,501 U.S. towns with household incomes like Ephrata’s, it is healthier than 70%, so its B isn’t only a matter of income.
Ephrata beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 19% of adults binge drink in Ephrata.
| Ephrata | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 38% | 36% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 77% | 79% | 79% |
| What stands out | Ephrata | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 8.5% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 55% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 78 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ephrata.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 2.6 years of the Lancaster metro’s $87K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 78% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
7 within 15 miles of the center of Ephrata
About 4 of every 100 Ephrata residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
12.8% of the town is conserved land, across 14 parks and preserves.
6 places in Ephrata on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Ephrata.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Ephrata ( EF-rə-tə; Pennsylvania German: Effridaa) is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located 42 miles (68 km) east of Harrisburg and about 60 miles (97 km) west-northwest of Philadelphia and is named after Ephrath, the former name for current-day Bethlehem. In its early history, Ephrata was a pleasure resort and an agricultural community. Ephrata's population has steadily grown over the last century. In 1900, 2,452 people lived there, and by 1940, the population had increased to 6,199. The population was 13,794 at the 2020 census. Ephrata is the most populous borough in Lancaster County. Ephrata's sister city is Eberbach, Germany, the city where its founde…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Ephrata.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ephrata | #370 | A− | B | A− | B− | B |
| Ephrata Township | #784 | C+ | C− | — | B− | B |
| Akron | #504 | B+ | C+ | — | B− | B |
Ephrata Township and Akron report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Ephrata with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Ephrata grades A− overall, better than 77% of U.S. towns and #370 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B for health, A− for safety and B− for schools.
Yes, by national standards. Pennsylvania has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Ephrata sits nearer the middle.
The typical home is worth about $224,000, 22% below the Pennsylvania typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
9 notable people were born here, including Charles B. McVay III and Whitey Von Nieda.
