Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Lancaster grades D overall, 1002nd among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns, mostly because of schools and health. Its schools rank behind 87% of the state's. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 75% of the country. In its favor, it is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 59 places on the National Register. Its National Register listings include Fulton Opera House and Andrew Ellicott House. Lancaster’s trail network density is 1.3 miles per square mile, against 0.4 in Pennsylvania’s towns and 0.4 across U.S. towns. Lancaster is home to Franklin and Marshall College.
Where Lancaster beats most towns.
Fulton Opera House| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Franklin and Marshall College | 1,911 |
| Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology | 1,453 |
| Pennsylvania College of Art and Design | 318 |
Fulton Opera House is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier. Its 59 National Register listings are more than in any other Pennsylvania town with a listing.
Census counts: 3,762 in 1790, 58,039 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1744 and 7 maps from 1902 on.
Lancaster takes its name from Lancaster in Lancashire, England, 3,430 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionLancaster, settled in 1730, takes its name from Lancaster, a large town in Lancashire, England.
1 more U.S. town is named after Lancaster:Lancaster, NH3,218
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Lancaster is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lancaster, 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 Lancaster.
Lancaster has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Pennsylvania (mostly inland flooding) and scores below East Lampeter Township and its other neighbors on health.
Trails run 9.4 miles in 22 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Lancaster County Central Park, 220 acres with 2.6 miles of trail. Parks and preserves here: 22, covering 619 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lancaster County Central Park | 2.6 mi | 220 |
| 2. Williamson Area | 2.1 mi | 67 |
| 3. Kiwanis Natural Area | 1.8 mi | 60 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Each of its 3 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than that grade, Manheim Township highest at A.
Its public schools are run by Lancaster SD. Two of the 23 schools are below, and why each made the list. Public school enrollment here: 2,502 students across 6 schools.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson MSLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 524 | D− |
| McCaskey CampusLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,600 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
All 3 graded neighbors score healthier than its C, from East Lampeter Township (B−) to Manheim Township (A−).
For adults in Lancaster, the share who report frequent mental distress is 19%. Lancaster: just over three quarters of adults had a checkup this year, below both the Pennsylvania town median (79%) and the median of U.S. towns (79%).
| Lancaster | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 38% | 36% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 6.9% | 8.1% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 34% | 35% |
| What stands out | Lancaster | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.4% | 8.8% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 6.1% | 7.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 14.6% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Only 48.6% of households own their home, against 69.3% across Pennsylvania.
Lancaster’s midpoint age is 32.2 years. The bachelor’s-degree share among adults 25 and older is 29%, against 35% across Pennsylvania. Just over a fifth of Lancaster residents are under 18.
| Lancaster | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 32.2 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 10% | 21% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 20% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.4 points). Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women. Median age: women 32.8, men 31.8.
| Lancaster | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.4% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.4% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 15.2% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 18.5% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 15.1% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.9% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 3.5% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 15.7% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.4% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.1% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.5% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.2% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 10.2% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Winters in Lancaster are chilly and summers warm. Summer afternoons peak near 86° in July, and January nights bottom out around 22°; snowfall runs to about 21 inches a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 89% of Pennsylvania towns, with expected losses of about $320 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
Households in Lancaster have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2011. Its risk rating from FEMA stands at 66 of 100. Since 1978, Lancaster has seen 81 flood insurance claims paid out. 67% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding, followed by earthquakes at 11%.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The share of working residents in Lancaster who work locally: 22%. The top destinations are Manheim Township (8%), East Hempfield Township (7%) and East Lampeter Township (5%). The town’s median household income comes in at $64,000. Half commute less than 6 miles.
| Lancaster | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $64,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
217 violent crimes were reported in 2025. In Lancaster, the property offense rate is 13.6 per 1,000 residents. Lancaster's reported crime rate is close to Pennsylvania's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts.
| Lancaster | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.7 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 13.6 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
At 2.5 years of the Lancaster metro’s $87K median household income, the typical home costs less against local pay than in 81% of Pennsylvania towns; that ratio is one input to its C+ for cost of living.
Nearly half of households own their home in Lancaster. A home in Lancaster typically sold within 13 days of listing. Bidding over the asking price: 37% of homes sold here.
| Lancaster | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 49% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,240 a month | $1,114 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lancaster. Close and well known come first.
25 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year
5 mi Theme parkDutch Wonderland
35 mi GardenLongwood Gardens
9 mi MuseumRailroad Museum of Pennsylvania
11 mi MuseumEphrata Cloister
26 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark StadiumHersheypark: Michael Gray, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dutch Wonderland: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Longwood Gardens: P. Hughes, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania: Dough4872, Public domain · Ephrata Cloister: 1549bcp at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Hersheypark Stadium: 45BearsFan, CC BY-SA 4.0
8 within 15 miles of the center of Lancaster
About 10 of every 100 Lancaster residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
4 colleges in town.
59 places in Lancaster on the National Register of Historic Places.
46 notable people were born in Lancaster.
City in Pennsylvania, United States
Lancaster is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth-most populous city in the state. It is a core city within South Central Pennsylvania, with 552,984 residents in the Lancaster metropolitan area. Settled in the 1720s, Lancaster is one of the oldest inland cities in the US. It served as the capital of Pennsylvania from 1799 to 1812. The city's primary industries include healthcare, tourism, public administration, manufacturing, and both professional and semi-professional services. Lancaster is located 59 miles (95 km) southwest of Allentown and 61 miles (98 km) west of Philadelphia and is…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Lancaster.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; East Lampeter Township (B−) is closest. West Lampeter Township next door grades higher for schools (A to Lancaster’s D) and lower for cost of living (D to C+).
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster | #1002 | D | C+ | — | D | C |
| Manheim Township | #227 | A | C− | B+ | A | A− |
| West Lampeter Township | #479 | B+ | D | A | A | B− |
| Lancaster Township | #952 | C− | C | — | D | B |
| East Lampeter Township | #681 | B− | C | C+ | B+ | B− |
| Willow Street | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Lancaster and Lancaster Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Willow Street isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Lancaster with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Lancaster grades D overall, better than 10% of U.S. towns and #1002 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades C for health and D for schools. Schools is its weak spot, with a D.
The typical home is worth about $220,000, 24% 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 C+.
46 notable people were born here, including Jonathan Groff and Beth Behrs.
