What does this measure?
The age of the housing stock that exists, expressed as a percent built in each decade.
Why is this important?
The age of housing stock gives an indication of supply, demand, local construction levels, and the overall quality of housing available.
How does our county compare?
Eighteen percent of Lancaster County's housing stock has been constructed since the 2000s. This is above the Pennsylvania rate of 12%, and slightly below the national rate of 21%. Lancaster's percentage is similar to York (19%), above Berks (13%), Dauphin (14%), and Lebanon (16%), and below Chester (22%) and Cumberland (21%).
Twenty-percent of Lancaster County's housing stock was constructed before the 1940s. This is below the Pennsylvania average of 26%, but above the national average of 12%. Lancaster's percentage is below Berks (27%) and Lebanon (24%), similar to Dauphin (21%) and York (19%) and above Chester (14%) and Cumberland (16%).
Compared to Lancaster County, the City of Lancaster has higher rates of older housing stock. Only 4% of the City's stock has been constructed since the 2000s and 52% was constructed before 1940.
Notes about the data
The multiyear figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined 5 years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval). The survey provides data on characteristics of the population that used to be collected only during the decennial census. Data for this indicator are released annually in December.
| Before 1940 | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010 and After | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 26% | 7% | 13% | 10% | 13% | 10% | 9% | 8% | 4% | ||||||||||
| Lancaster County | 20% | 4% | 9% | 8% | 12% | 14% | 13% | 11% | 7% | ||||||||||
| Lancaster City | 52% | 10% | 12% | 8% | 7% | 5%* | 2%* | 2%** | 2%** | ||||||||||
| Lancaster County Boroughs | |||||||||||||||||||
| Lancaster County Townships | |||||||||||||||||||
| Berks County | 27% | 6% | 11% | 9% | 13% | 11% | 12% | 10% | 3% | ||||||||||
| Chester County | 14% | 3% | 8% | 9% | 13% | 16% | 16% | 15% | 7% | ||||||||||
| Cumberland County | 16% | 4% | 10% | 10% | 14% | 12% | 12% | 12% | 9% | ||||||||||
| Dauphin County | 21% | 6% | 14% | 10% | 14% | 10% | 11% | 9% | 5% | ||||||||||
| Lebanon County | 24% | 6% | 12% | 9% | 14% | 10% | 11% | 11% | 5% | ||||||||||
| York County | 19% | 5% | 11% | 8% | 13% | 11% | 14% | 14% | 5% | ||||||||||
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%.
| Before 1940 | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010 and After | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 1,470,362 | 410,191 | 771,101 | 576,906 | 716,448 | 551,065 | 538,637 | 459,492 | 234,586 | ||||||||||
| Lancaster County | 43,496 | 9,502 | 20,299 | 17,914 | 26,297 | 30,656 | 28,828 | 23,945 | 14,351 | ||||||||||
| Lancaster City | 11,814 | 2,139 | 2,591 | 1,832 | 1,684 | 1,059* | 550* | 455** | 379** | ||||||||||
| Lancaster County Boroughs | |||||||||||||||||||
| Lancaster County Townships | |||||||||||||||||||
| Berks County | 45,478 | 9,413 | 18,502 | 14,547 | 21,777 | 17,975 | 19,844 | 16,858 | 5,729 | ||||||||||
| Chester County | 28,099 | 5,662 | 16,903 | 18,547 | 27,810 | 32,225 | 32,197 | 31,636 | 13,584 | ||||||||||
| Cumberland County | 17,237 | 4,752 | 10,946 | 11,271 | 15,231 | 12,591 | 13,176 | 13,421 | 9,590 | ||||||||||
| Dauphin County | 26,299 | 7,389 | 17,530 | 12,836 | 17,695 | 12,856 | 13,770 | 11,209 | 6,397 | ||||||||||
| Lebanon County | 13,953 | 3,428 | 6,887 | 5,029 | 8,117 | 5,682 | 6,249 | 6,304 | 3,144 | ||||||||||
| York County | 35,329 | 9,392 | 19,636 | 15,358 | 25,157 | 20,759 | 26,803 | 25,442 | 8,538 | ||||||||||
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%.
| INDICATORS | TREND |
|---|---|
| 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 |
