Community






Community indicators cover a broad range of measures of what makes a region and community appealing to live in, including civic participation such as charitable giving and voting, crime and incarceration rates, population density, air and water quality, and the quality of housing. Compared to its peer counties and the state and nation, Lancaster is stronger in charitable giving, and has generally lower violent crime and incarceration rates. However, Lancaster has higher rates of air and water pollution and greater racial disparities in incarceration than many of its peer counties.

Charitable giving was comparatively strong in Lancaster County. In 2021, the average charitable contribution in Lancaster County was $28,700, above the average for Pennsylvania ($19,500) and the U.S. ($22,500), and higher than in any surrounding county.

In 2022, 80% of voting-age Lancaster County residents were registered to vote, below the overall Pennsylvania rate (80%). All neighboring counties, except for Berks County (77%), had a higher voter registration rate in 2022 than Lancaster. However, voter participation was about average: in 2022, 52% of voting-age people in Lancaster County cast votes in the election, similar to the statewide rate  but below neighboring counties (Chester (60%) and Cumberland (54%).

The age of housing stock in an area gives an indication of supply, demand, local construction levels, and the overall quality of housing available. On average, Lancaster County has newer housing stock than the state, but older stock than the nation. Eight percent of Lancaster County’s housing stock has been constructed since the 2010s. This was above the Pennsylvania level of 5%, and slightly below the nation at 9%. By contrast, 20% of Lancaster County’s housing stock was constructed before the 1940s. This was below Pennsylvania’s 25%, but above the nation’s 12%.

Lancaster County had a 2022 population density of 590 people per square mile, above the Pennsylvania level of 290 and the U.S. level of 94. Of area counties, Lancaster has the second highest population density, behind Chester (727). Parts of the county differ dramatically in population density. In the City of Lancaster, the density is 7,950 people per square mile.

In comparison to peer counties and the state, Lancaster had more challenges to air and water quality. In 2023, 47% of days in Lancaster were healthy air days, below 54% in 2010. The year with the fewest healthy air days was 2014, at 34%. Lancaster lags behind its peer counties in air quality: in 2023, 67%-80% of days in peer counties were healthy air days. The air quality of Cumberland, Chester and York have all increased significantly since 2010.

Lancaster had higher rates of stream pollution than the state as a whole and most neighboring counties. In 2022, 70% of Lancaster’s streams were pollution-impaired for aquatic life, 4.2% were impaired for fish consumption, 62% were impaired for recreation and 1.0% were impaired for water supply. These were significantly above state rates of 21% for aquatic life, 12% for recreation, and 0.1% for water supply, but below the 6.0% for fish consumption. 

Lancaster’s average water use was below its peers: at a daily average of 29 gallons per person, Lancaster County used less water per capita in 2015 than the state, overall, which had a rate of 41 gallons per capita, and also less water than all comparison counties. This was also well below the national rate of 72 gallons per capita, daily.

Lancaster had lower rates of reported violent crime and incarceration than the state and neighboring counties. In 2022, there were 1.1 violent crimes reported per 1,000 residents in Lancaster County, lower than the Pennsylvania (2.8) and national (3.8) rates. In 2022, the average Lancaster County jail population was 1.4 county jail inmates per 1,000 residents, down 35% from 2006. This was below the 1.8 incarceration rate of Pennsylvania as a whole and lower than most neighboring counties.

Despite its lower rates, racial disparities in incarceration were evident in Lancaster. In 2018, the latest year for which data is available, African Americans in Lancaster were incarcerated at a rate of 130 persons per 10,000 residents, more than eight times the rate of 16 per 10,000 for white residents. Latinos, at 60 per 10,000 residents, were incarcerated at nearly four times the rate of white residents. This was greater than the overall disparities in Pennsylvania, where African Americans were incarcerated at more than five times the rate of whites and Latinos at 2.2 times the rate of whites. 





INDICATORS TREND
Prekindergarten Participation Increasing
Student Performance on Grade 3 English Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 8 Math Not Applicable
High School Cohort Graduation Rate Increasing
Per-Student Spending Maintaining
Students Receiving Special Education Services Increasing
Rate of Foster Care Admissions Maintaining
Disengaged Youth Maintaining
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Plans of High School Graduates Not Applicable
Enrollment in Local Colleges Decreasing
College Graduation Rates Decreasing
Brain Drain/Gain Increasing
Education Levels of Adults by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Average Charitable Giving Maintaining
Voter Registration Rate Not Applicable
Voter Participation Rate Increasing
Age of Housing Stock Not Applicable
Violent Crime Rate Maintaining
Incarceration Rate Decreasing
Incarceration Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Population Density Increasing
Air Quality Decreasing
Water Use Decreasing
Waterways Impaired by Pollution Not Applicable
Change in Population Increasing
Change in Population by Age and Gender Not Applicable
Population by Age Not Applicable
Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People with Disabilities Maintaining
Foreign-Born Population Increasing
Language Diversity Increasing
Change in Total Jobs Increasing
Change in Employment by Sector Not Applicable
Sector Share of Total Jobs Not Applicable
Workers by Occupation Not Applicable
Change in Labor Force Maintaining
People Entering/Leaving County/Region for Work Not Applicable
Average Salary by Sector Not Applicable
Change in Average Salary Since 2000 Increasing
Female to Male Earnings Ratio Maintaining
Employer Size Not Applicable
Change in Number of Businesses by Sector Increasing
Change in Total Agricultural Sales Increasing
Spending for Local Government Maintaining
Spending for School Districts Maintaining
Children Living in Poverty Decreasing
Children in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty Decreasing
People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Veterans Living in Poverty Maintaining
Working Poor Decreasing
Median Household Income by Household Type Not Applicable
Median Household Income Maintaining
Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Living Wage Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Households Receiving SNAP by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Household Receiving Temporary Assistance Maintaining
Students Eligible for Free/Reduced Price Lunch Increasing
Median Home Value Maintaining
Occupied Housing Units Maintaining
Homeownership Rate, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Cost of Homeownership by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Median Rent Maintaining
Cost of Renting Increasing
Households Without Vehicles Maintaining
Means of Transportation to Work, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People Without Health Insurance Decreasing
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Health Status Decreasing
Prevalence of Mental Illness Maintaining
Adults Who are Overweight or Obese Not Applicable
Mortality Rates Decreasing
Mortality Rate, by Race/Ethnicity Increasing
Fatal Drug Overdoses Increasing
Cancer Incidence Decreasing
Households With Internet Access Increasing
High-Tech Jobs Increasing
STEM Graduates Increasing
Science and Engineering Research and Development Maintaining
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Education Levels of Adults by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Incarceration Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Children in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Households Receiving SNAP by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Homeownership Rate, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Cost of Homeownership by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable


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