Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 10,043, settled in 1717.
Lower Swatara Township grades B+ overall, 409th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. It reports less crime per resident than 78% of U.S. towns and the median household earns $87K. It also does better than most on health: residents are healthier than 61% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Its lowest everyday mark is in schools: its schools rank behind 68% of the state's. A typical home there costs about $235K, 2.9 years of the Harrisburg metro’s $81K median household income. Lower Swatara Township has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Star Barn Complex and Conrad and Margaret Allerman House. 17% of residents are under 18 in Lower Swatara Township, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 20% and U.S. towns at 22%. Lower Swatara Township is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 71% of U.S. towns.
Where Lower Swatara Township beats most towns.
Census counts: 8,149 in 2000, 9,528 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper and 7 maps from 1906 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Lower Swatara Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lower Swatara Township. Close and well known come first.
7 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year
22 mi National MonumentCarlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument
7 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark Stadium
7 mi MuseumHershey's Chocolate World
7 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark Arena
38 mi Ancient siteGettysburg BattlefieldHersheypark: 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 · Gettysburg Battlefield: Veggies, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lower Swatara Township, 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 Lower Swatara Township.
Lower Swatara Township reports less crime than Fairview Township or any other graded neighbor and draws workers from Lower Paxton Township and beyond, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
12,529 jobs are based in Lower Swatara Township, 3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 6,766 in 2013 to 12,529.
Most working residents leave Lower Swatara Township for work: only 9% work in town. Jobs based in Lower Swatara Township grew to 12,529 in 2023, 5,763 more than in 2013. Lower Swatara Township’s average trip to work is 22 minutes.
| Lower Swatara Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 14% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $87,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 8.7% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by Middletown Area SD. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Middletown Area HS, with 702 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middletown Area MSLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 534 | C− |
| Middletown Area HSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 702 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Its A− tops all 6 graded towns on its borders; Fairview Township (A−) comes closest. At 9.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 59% of Pennsylvania’s graded towns. Reported crimes rose from 24 to 57 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The violent crime rate in Lower Swatara Township is 2.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Lower Swatara Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.1 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.6 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
91 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 13 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 75% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 91 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lower Swatara Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Lower Swatara Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 23° and about 30 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
3.4 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves.
| Lower Swatara Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Greenfield Park | 0.6 mi | 17 |
| 2. State Game Lands Number 275 | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
40% of Lower Swatara Township adults sleep under 7 hours. Lower Swatara Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 32% of Lower Swatara Township adults have high blood pressure.
| Lower Swatara Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 34% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 32% | 35% | 35% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 24% | 23% |
| What stands out | Lower Swatara Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 7.7% | 5.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Adults 18 to 34 are 27% of residents (22% statewide). Lower Swatara Township has grown 5.4% since 2020, to 10,043 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 33% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Pennsylvania.
| Lower Swatara Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 29% | 29% |
| Median age | 43.6 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 21% | 18% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.4 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Lower Swatara Township | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.2% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 7% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 12.2% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.4% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 8.1% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.8% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.4% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.4% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.6% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.4% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.4% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 19% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 9.1% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 22.1% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.1% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
7 within 15 miles of the center of Lower Swatara Township
About 10 of every 100 Lower Swatara Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
8,268 counted in 2010 and 9,531 in 2020; an estimated 10,043 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 5.4% since 2020, after 15.3% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
2 places in Lower Swatara Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Lower Swatara Township is a township in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 9,528 at the 2020 census. Harrisburg International Airport and Penn State Harrisburg are located within the township. It shares a ZIP Code with the nearby borough of Middletown, and all locations in the township have Middletown addresses.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Lower Swatara Township.
Derry Township next door grades higher for schools (A to Lower Swatara Township’s C) and lower for cost of living (C− to B−).
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Swatara Township | #409 | B+ | B− | A− | C | B |
| Highspire | #999 | D | B− | B− | D− | C |
| Derry Township | #265 | A | C− | B | A | A |
| Middletown | #819 | C+ | B− | B− | C | C+ |
| Swatara Township | #769 | C+ | B− | C | C+ | B |
| Fairview Township | #351 | A− | B− | A− | B | B |
| Londonderry Township | #191 | A | B | — | B+ | B+ |
| Steelton | #1026 | D− | B | D | D− | D |
Londonderry Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Lower Swatara Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Lower Swatara Township grades B+ overall, better than 74% of U.S. towns and #409 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades B for health, A− for safety and C for schools.
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B−.
