Bridge over Little Pine Creek, State Route 1026 over Little Pine Creek, 2.01 kilometers (1.25 miles) East of Bendertown
Jonestown’s story
224 years in pictures
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper.
- 1802Jonestown is settled
JonestownPA
Population
1,666
2025 Census estimate · +2.3% since 2020
Typical home
$330K
+6.1% in a year
Household income
$89K
median
Median age
33.1
years
Jobs based here
226
A commuter town
Is Jonestown a good place to live?
Jonestown’s best subject grade is an A for the outdoors; its weakest is a C for health. 10% of residents are 65 or older in Jonestown, below both Pennsylvania’s towns (21%) and U.S. towns (18%). Jonestown’s trail density is 1.2 miles per square mile, against 0.4 in Pennsylvania’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Only 110 of Pennsylvania’s 1,717 towns score lower on civic life. The biggest park or preserve is Jonestown Community Park, at 26 acres. Jonestown has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
StrongestAOutdoors
What makes Jonestown stand out
Where Jonestown beats most towns.
A shrinking town
Jonestown has shrunk 12% since 2010
1,905 counted in 2010 and 1,638 in 2020; an estimated 1,666 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Jonestown grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Jonestown is from typical.
Jobs & income$89K median household income; 226 jobs based hereB+Open →Cost of livingB+Open →HealthLess healthy than 67% of U.S. towns; Wellspan Good Samaritan Hospital 6.3 miles awayCOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 7.2 of 20; 1.4% of households have no carC+Open →Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listC+Open →SchoolsBehind 54% of Pennsylvania districts on tests and graduationB−Open →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors1 mile of trail; 7% conserved landAOpen →HistoryBOpen →Civic life2.8 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsDOpen →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Jonestown: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jonestown, and how to reach them.
PowerMet-EdEIAHIFLD · EIA
WaterLebanon Water Auth1 health-based violation in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet5 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Jonestown’s trash rules yet
Register to voteOnlineIn Pennsylvania you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person until 15 days before Election Day, or by mail (received 15 days before).vote.govWho runs elections hereLebanon County Board of ElectionsLebanon County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jun 2025
ZIP code1703817038 100%Census 2020
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Jonestown.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade B+
Most of Jonestown’s workers commute out: the town has 0.3 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Jonestown for work: only 1% work in town. The average trip to work in Jonestown is 22 minutes. The top destinations are Derry Township (10%), Bethel Township (8%) and Union Township (6%).
1%work in town
| Jonestown | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.4% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $89,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 6.9% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
In Jonestown1%
Derry Township10%
Bethel Township8%
Union Township6%
Lebanon4%
12 mi
median commute distance
226
jobs based in Jonestown
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
C+
Walkability grade: more walkable than 40% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
HealthC
Compared with most of Pennsylvania and the rest of the country, more of Jonestown’s adults have been diagnosed with depression
28% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Jonestown.
33%healthier than U.S. townsCHealth Grade
| Jonestown | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 24% | 23% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 16% | 17% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 79% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
26 measures vs. Pennsylvania
1 better19 too close to call6 worse
| What stands out | Jonestown | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 7.7% | 8.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 8.8% | 5.8% |
Wellspan Good Samaritan Hospital
6.3 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Climate
In Jonestown, expect four seasons and pleasant summers
Jonestown has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 21° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
24″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter23–40°
Spring40–61°
Summer62–83°
Fall44–64°
Oct 25
typical first frost
Apr 20
typical last frost
+1.8°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HousingCost of living grade B+
The typical home in Jonestown is valued at about $330K
The typical Jonestown home is worth about $330,000, up 6.1% in a year, 15% above the Pennsylvania typical home.
$330KZillow home value
| Jonestown | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 79% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,056 a month | $1,115 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Jonestown$330K
Pennsylvania$287K
+6.1%
value change, 1 year
3
homes sold in May
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
OutdoorsA
Jonestown has set aside 6.6% of its land for conservation
0.7 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
6.6%conserved
6.6%
conserved · 27 of 403 acres
0.7 mi
of trails · 1.2 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jonestown Community Park | 0.7 mi | 26 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade C+
Jonestown faces a moderate natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 52% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Jonestown.
52risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland floodingHurricanesTornadoes
7
paid flood claims since 1979
3
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Nearby attractions
All 85 attractions →Hersheypark and 38 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Jonestown. Close and well known come first.
13 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year
39 mi National MonumentCarlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument
13 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark Stadium
13 mi MuseumHershey's Chocolate World32 mi Theme parkKnoebels Amusement Resort
13 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark ArenaSources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons
Photo credits
Hersheypark: Michael Gray, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Hersheypark Stadium: 45BearsFan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hershey's Chocolate World: Phillyfan0419, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hersheypark Arena: Hersheyarena4ever at English Wikipedia, Public domain
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Jonestown
18pages on Jonestown
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
1 within 15 miles of the center of Jonestown
About 5 of every 100 Jonestown residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Pennsylvania.
A commuter town
99% of working residents leave Jonestown for work
Where Jonestown’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
226jobs based in Jonestown
1%of working residents work in town
12 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
Jonestown’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Jonestown.
Swatara TownshipUnion TownshipJonestown
How the neighbors grade
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonestown | — | — | B+ | — | B− | C |
| Swatara Township | #813 | C+ | B− | — | B− | C |
| Union Township | #723 | B− | B | — | B− | C+ |
Jonestown has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Jonestown, Swatara Township and Union Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Jonestown with a neighbor →
Questions about Jonestown
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Jonestown, PA expensive?
Not for the area. That is 4.2 years of the area's median household income ($78,425 across the Lebanon, PA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.