GAR Building · National Register of Historic Places
Lykens’s story
169 years in pictures
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1850.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1857Lykens is settled
LykensPA
A town of 1,856, settled in 1857.
3 bordering townsMap →
Hotel Lykens · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ, M.D. · CC BY-SA 4.0
Population
1,856
2025 Census estimate · −0.2% since 2020
Median home value
$107K
Census ACS
Household income
$73K
median
Median age
44.1
years
Jobs based here
221
A commuter town
Is Lykens a good place to live?
Lykens’ best subject grades are an A for cost of living, walkability, and the outdoors; its weakest is a D− for hazard risk. 23% of residents live below the poverty line in Lykens, above both Pennsylvania’s towns (7.6%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 2 of Pennsylvania’s 1,751 towns score lower on hazard risk. Lykens has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them GAR Building and Hotel Lykens. Lykens has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Lykens stand out
Where Lykens beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
A commuter town
95% of working residents leave Lykens for work
Where Lykens’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
221jobs based in Lykens
5%of working residents work in town
19 mimedian commute distance
Census LEHD 2023
How Lykens grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Lykens is from typical.
Hazard riskinland flooding tops the listD−Open →Cost of livingTypical home $107K, 1.3 years of the Harrisburg metro’s $81K median household incomeAOpen →WalkabilityEPA walkability 10 of 20; 13.6% of households have no carAOpen →Jobs & income$73K median household incomeC−Open →SchoolsBehind 60% of Pennsylvania districts on tests and graduationC+Open →HealthMilton S Hershey Medical Center 20.4 miles awayBOpen →
Character Graded, but not part of the overall grade.
Outdoors1 mile of trail; 6% conserved landAOpen →History3 places on the National Register; 1 notable person born hereA−Open →Civic life5.2 community nonprofits per 1,000 residentsB−Open →
Described, not graded Taste, not quality: snow or an older crowd is neither good nor bad.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Nearby attractions
All 58 attractions →Hersheypark and 28 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Lykens. Close and well known come first.
19 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year
35 mi National MonumentCarlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument24 mi Theme parkKnoebels Amusement Resort
19 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark Stadium
19 mi MuseumHershey's Chocolate World
19 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
Getting set up
The full setup list →Moving to Lykens: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Lykens, and how to reach them.
PowerPPL Electric Utilities18.6¢/kWh · EIA 2025HIFLD · EIA
WaterLykens Boro Auth water system4 health-based violations in 5 years · EPAEPA
Internet4 providers100% of addresses get 100/20 MbpsFCC
Trash & dumpNot on file yetWe don’t have Lykens’ 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 hereDauphin County Board of ElectionsDauphin County; contacts on the Handbook page.FVAP, Jul 2022
ZIP code1704817048 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 Lykens.
Natural hazardsHazard risk grade D−
Compared with most of Pennsylvania and the rest of the country, the FEMA risk score in Lykens is higher
At 95 of 100, Lykens’ FEMA risk score is where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 30 of 100 and U.S. towns at 44 of 100. Since 1994, 64 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Lykens.
95risk score of 100
FEMA risk score
Inland flooding
64
paid flood claims since 1994
3
federal disasters paid out here
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
Lykens has 0.3 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Most working residents leave Lykens for work: only 5% work in town. The average trip to work in Lykens is 30 minutes. Since 2013, Lykens has lost 118 jobs, to 221 in 2023.
5%work in town
| Lykens | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 5.4% | 6.3% | 8% |
Where working residents work
In Lykens5%
Washington Township10%
Harrisburg6%
Upper Paxton Township5%
Gratz3%
19 mi
median commute distance
221
jobs based in Lykens
A commuter town
jobs vs. working residents
A
Walkability grade: more walkable than 91% of U.S. towns
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Climate
Four seasons and pleasant summers in Lykens
Lykens has chilly winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. Lykens’ July high is 82°F.
28″snow a winter
Typical low → high °F
Winter22–37°
Spring39–58°
Summer61–79°
Fall43–61°
Oct 16
typical first frost
May 1
typical last frost
+1.5°
vs. the 20th-century average
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
HealthB
On CDC estimates, Lykens is healthier than 57% of U.S. towns
Lykens beats the Pennsylvania average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 40% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Lykens.
57%healthier than U.S. townsBHealth Grade
| Lykens | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 38% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 17% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
26 measures vs. Pennsylvania
0 better25 too close to call1 worse
| What stands out | Lykens | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More uninsured adults | 8.4% | 5.8% |
Milton S Hershey Medical Center
20.4 mi away · emergency room
None
primary care, dental or mental-health shortage
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
6.4%conserved
| Lykens | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.6 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.4% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
6.4%
conserved · 49 of 776 acres
0.7 mi
of trails · 0.6 per sq mi
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lykens Glen Park | 0.2 mi | 12 |
| 2. West Borough Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
HousingCost of living grade A
Homes in Lykens sell for about $146K
62% of Lykens households own their home.
$146Kmedian sale price
3
homes sold in May
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Lykens
19pages on Lykens
The big questions
Out and about
The story
Day to day
After high school
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Lykens; the nearest are
Susquehanna UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Selinsgrove18.6 mi$59,850 tuitionHarrisburg Area Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Harrisburg21 mi$6,975 in-state tuitionPennsylvania State University-Penn State HarrisburgUniversity or college · Public · Middletown25 mi$15,972 in-state tuition
About 1 of every 100 Lykens residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Landmarks
3 places in Lykens on the National Register of Historic Places.
Lykens’s neighbors
3 towns share a border with Lykens.
Wiconisco TownshipWiconsicoJackson TownshipLykens
How the neighbors grade
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lykens | — | — | A | — | C+ | B |
| Wiconisco Township | — | — | A+ | — | C | C+ |
| Wiconsico | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jackson Township | — | — | B | — | C+ | B− |
Lykens, Wiconisco Township and Jackson Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Lykens, Wiconisco Township and Jackson Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Wiconsico isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Lykens with a neighbor →
Questions about Lykens
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Lykens, PA expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $107,000, 63% 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 A.