Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Mount Joy Township grades A− overall, 300th of 1032 graded towns in Pennsylvania, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $98K and residents are healthier than 76% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. It also does better than most on schools: its schools outperform 73% of the state's. Its lowest everyday mark is in cost of living: the typical home is worth about $312K, 3.6 years of the Lancaster metro’s $87K median household income. 29% of the land in Mount Joy Township is conserved, against 8.2% in Pennsylvania’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Shaw Family Nature Preserve, at 126 acres.
Where Mount Joy Township beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Bear Creek School | 3–5 | 750 |
| Lancaster County Career and Technology Center - Mt Joy | 9–12 | 15 |
| Mount Calvary Christian School | K–12 | 657 |
Where Mount Joy Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Mount Joy Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,729 in 1860, 8,325 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 6 maps from 1908 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mount Joy Township. Close and well known come first.
10 mi Theme parkHersheypark3.0M visitors a year
33 mi National MonumentCarlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument
10 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark Stadium
10 mi MuseumHershey's Chocolate World
10 mi Stadium & arenaHersheypark Arena
20 mi Theme parkDutch WonderlandHersheypark: 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 · Dutch Wonderland: FlugKerl2, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Mount Joy 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 Mount Joy Township.
5.7 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. At 0.2 miles per square mile, Mount Joy Township’s trail density is where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 0.5 and U.S. towns at 0.4.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. High Family Nature Preserve | 2.3 mi | 109 |
| 2. Cove Outlook Park | 1.5 mi | 31 |
| 3. Bellaire Woods | 0.8 mi | 52 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by Elizabethtown Area SD. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Creek SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–5 | Grades 3–5 | 750 | B+ |
| Lancaster County Career and Technology Center - Mt JoyLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 15 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
19% of Mount Joy Township adults binge drink. Mount Joy Township beats the Pennsylvania average on 4 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 12% of Mount Joy Township adults report frequent physical distress.
| Mount Joy Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Mount Joy Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 9.8% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults in fair or poor health | 16.2% | 18.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Mount Joy Township for work: only 6% work in town. 3.4% of residents live below the poverty line in Mount Joy Township. Jobs based in Mount Joy Township fell to 3,024 in 2023, 168 fewer than in 2013.
| Mount Joy Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 3.4% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $98,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 9.4% | 12% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 73% of U.S. communities. Since 1986, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mount Joy Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Mount Joy Township has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 85°, January nights drop to 22° and about 24 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Adults 35 to 64 are 43% of residents (38% statewide). 33% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 35% across Pennsylvania.
| Mount Joy Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 33% | 29% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 18% | 21% | 18% |
| Median age | 43.1 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 21% | 20% | 22% |
46% women, 54% men
About 118 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±2.6 points). Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Mount Joy Township | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.1% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.4% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.9% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.4% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 17.9% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 11.4% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.3% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8.6% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 11.1% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 32.7% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 15.6% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.8% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.4% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.3% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
5 within 15 miles of the center of Mount Joy Township
About 4 of every 100 Mount Joy Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Mount Joy is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,346 at the 2020 census, and an estimated 8,323 in 2021.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Mount Joy Township.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Joy Township | #300 | A− | C+ | — | B+ | A− |
| Rapho Township | #590 | B | C | — | B | B+ |
| Conewago Township | #290 | A− | B− | — | B+ | A− |
| Elizabethtown | #130 | A | B− | B+ | A− | B+ |
| Mount Joy | #93 | A+ | B− | A | B | A− |
| Londonderry Township | #191 | A | B | — | B+ | B+ |
| West Donegal Township | #582 | B | D | — | A− | A− |
| East Donegal Township | #616 | B | C | — | B | B+ |
Mount Joy Township, Rapho Township, Conewago Township, Londonderry Township, West Donegal Township and East Donegal Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Mount Joy Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Mount Joy Township grades A− overall, better than 83% of U.S. towns and #300 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades A− for health and B+ 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 C+.
