Living in Lancaster, PA
Small city in Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a small city in Pennsylvania, home to about 58,000 people, with 792,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, you can walk or take transit almost everywhere. Life moves at a fast pace, and homes are mostly apartments.
In short: Farmland, a lively small downtown and Amish country, with trains to Philadelphia and New York.
Is Lancaster a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Strong healthcare: 9 top-rated (4–5★) hospitals within 31 mi
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $233k and rents for $1,980 a month
- Low natural disaster risk: 6 federally declared disasters since 2000
- Mild summers: highs around 85°F
👎 Cons
- Cloudier than most places
- Fewer graduates: 27% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
- Few dog parks: 3 within 9 mi
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Lancaster ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Lancaster: common questions
What is the cost of living in Lancaster?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $233k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,980 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are close to the US average (index 98, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Lancaster?
Pennsylvania collects about $1,376 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 1.61% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Lancaster safe?
Lancaster isn't in the FBI's 2019 city crime table, so Best Life Fit Me counts its safety as average.
What is the weather like in Lancaster?
Lancaster has cold winters: winter days average around 42°F and summer days around 85°F, with roughly 21″ of snow a year.
Does Lancaster get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is low, mainly from flooding and earthquakes: 6 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.37 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Lancaster?
The nearest major airport is PHL, about 57 mi away.
How Lancaster scores
Each bar compares Lancaster with the other 1143 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
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Nearby
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Is Lancaster right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.