Photo: Photo by and (c)2006 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man) · CC BY-SA 2.5Even on the area’s higher pay, Rapho Township costs more to live in than 72% of U.S. towns
It ranks #740 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania for affordability. Home prices around Rapho Township have risen about 54% over the past 5 years. Builders were permitted 8 new homes in 2025.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Lancaster, PA metro area ($87K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Rapho Township’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($87K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 21% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 39% of renters.
In dollars
- $1,520a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 98prices across the Lancaster metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 94)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 3.7 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$87K, Lancaster-area income
- 21%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 39%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Pennsylvania: 48%Census 2020–24
- 21%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What stands out about housing in Rapho Township
What’s behind Rapho Township’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Rapho Township is more affordable than 28% of U.S. towns, #740 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. Rent pulls the grade down most; the share of households paying 30%+ for housing holds it up.
Home prices up 54% in 5 years
The federal house price index for the ZIP codes around Rapho Township rose 54% over the past 5 years, faster than across Pennsylvania (48%). Last year prices rose 1.3%. Carrying the Census median home value forward with that index puts the typical Rapho Township home at roughly $398,000 today.
Carrying the Census median forward with the index puts a typical home at about $398K.
Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (annual) for the ZIP codes around Rapho Township, weighted by land area. It tracks repeat sales of the same homes, so it shows how prices changed, not what homes cost.
A year’s rent takes 21% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Rapho Township’s own median, or type yours.
That’s $73K short of a typical Rapho Township home.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,520 a month here, $970 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Rapho Township’s typical property tax (1.20% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,520
Renters already here pay a median of $1,556.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Lancaster, PA MSA): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
8 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 8 new homes in Rapho Township in 2025, all single-family houses, worth about $6.1 million to build. That's 0.7 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Pennsylvania (2). Over the past 10 years, Rapho Township has permitted 417 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Rapho Township gained 1,582 residents while 799 new homes were permitted: about 2 new residents per new home, more than across Pennsylvania (1.4): growth outpaced building.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 4 | 4 | 0 | $747,000 |
| 2025 | 8 | 8 | 0 | $6.1 million |
| 2024 | 14 | 14 | 0 | $6.1 million |
| 2023 | 19 | 19 | 0 | $6.3 million |
| 2022 | 43 | 43 | 0 | $15.7 million |
| 2021 | 57 | 57 | 0 | $17 million |
| 2020 | 27 | 27 | 0 | $6.6 million |
| 2019 | 34 | 34 | 0 | $9.3 million |
| 2018 | 46 | 46 | 0 | $11.1 million |
| 2017 | 95 | 95 | 0 | $20 million |
| 2016 | 74 | 74 | 0 | $15.3 million |
| 2015 | 67 | 67 | 0 | $12.5 million |
| 2014 | 88 | 88 | 0 | $15.1 million |
| 2013 | 106 | 86 | 20 | $14.9 million |
| 2012 | 153 | 113 | 40 | $17.9 million |
| 2011 | 46 | 46 | 0 | $6.1 million |
| 2010 | 90 | 90 | 0 | $14.9 million |
| 2009 | 83 | 83 | 0 | $12.6 million |
| 2008 | 61 | 61 | 0 | $9.7 million |
| 2007 | 83 | 83 | 0 | $14.7 million |
| 2006 | 108 | 108 | 0 | $18.3 million |
| 2005 | 69 | 69 | 0 | $11.5 million |
| 2004 | 66 | 66 | 0 | $12.5 million |
| 2003 | 100 | 38 | 62 | $12.7 million |
| 2002 | 81 | 81 | 0 | $10.1 million |
| 2001 | 126 | 34 | 92 | $8.4 million |
| 2000 | 47 | 47 | 0 | $5.2 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
High tax bills, but a low tax rate
The median bill is $3,846 (Pennsylvania: $3,311), because homes cost more. As a share of value it’s 1.20% a year, against 1.30% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Rapho Township
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Lancaster, PA metro area, or Pennsylvania. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 98 | PA 98 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 101 | PA 99 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 107 | PA 109 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 98 | PA 100 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Rapho Township vs. its neighbors
Zillow publishes no value for Rapho Township. East Hempfield Township and East Donegal Township and Penn Township and Mount Joy Township and West Hempfield Township and Mount Joy and Manheim have no Zillow value, so they are in the table only.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, latest | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapho Township | C | — | $320K | 1.20% | $1,520 |
| Mount Joy Township | C+ | — | $312K | 1.46% | $1,520 |
| Penn Township | C | — | $321K | 1.18% | $1,540 |
| West Hempfield Township | B | — | $302K | 1.25% | $1,430 |
| East Hempfield Township | C | — | $361K | 1.27% | $1,590 |
| East Donegal Township | C | — | $331K | 1.43% | $1,440 |
| Manheim | B− | — | $246K | 1.32% | $1,530 |
| Mount Joy | B− | — | $267K | 1.41% | $1,540 |
“—” under Zillow: Zillow publishes no value for that town, so it’s left blank rather than mixed with Census figures.
Questions about the cost of living in Rapho Township
Is Rapho Township expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Rapho Township costs more than 72% of U.S. towns: a C for cost of living, #740 of 1,035 in Pennsylvania. The typical home costs 3.7 years of the median household income of the Lancaster, PA metro area ($87K).
How much is rent in Rapho Township?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,520 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,556 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Rapho Township?
The median bill is $3,846 a year, 1.20% of the median home value (Pennsylvania: $3,311, 1.30%), from the Census 2020–24.
Neighbors talk housing
What Rapho Township buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Price trend: Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.