What does this measure?
The percentage of the voting-age population (18 and over) that is registered to vote.
Why is this important?
Voting is a basic right of all citizens. Registration indicates the citizenry's interest, commitment and belief in the value of participating in our political process.
How does our county compare?
In 2021, 69% of voting-age Lancaster County residents were registered to vote, less than the 84% in Pennsylvania as a whole. The county's voter registration rate decreased 15 percentage points from 2020.
All neighboring counties had a higher voter registration rate in 2021 than Lancaster. Rates were higher in Berks (79%), Chester (89%), Cumberland (88%), Dauphin (86%), Lebanon (81%) and York (85%). All counties saw a decline in registration from 2020. Compared to 2000, most counties saw an increase in registration except Lancaster, which decreased 9 percentage points, and Chester which decreased 2 points.
Notes about the data
Comparable national data are not available.
2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pennsylvania | 83% | 83% | 83% | 81% | 88% | 84% | 85% | 83% | 89% | 86% | 85% | 82% | 85% | 82% | 82% | 80% | 86% | 83% | 84% | 84% | 89% | 84% |
Lancaster County | 78% | 78% | 78% | 78% | 86% | 80% | 80% | 80% | 85% | 81% | 81% | 76% | 79% | 77% | 77% | 76% | 82% | 78% | 80% | 78% | 84% | 69% |
Berks County | 75% | 76% | 75% | 73% | 80% | 80% | 78% | 78% | 84% | 79% | 80% | 76% | 79% | 78% | 77% | 75% | 81% | 77% | 76% | 77% | 83% | 79% |
Chester County | 91% | 87% | 87% | 87% | 95% | 83% | 84% | 81% | 89% | 88% | 88% | 84% | 88% | 86% | 86% | 82% | 89% | 87% | 89% | 86% | 93% | 89% |
Cumberland County | 79% | 75% | 76% | 77% | 83% | 76% | 77% | 77% | 83% | 80% | 80% | 81% | 83% | 77% | 78% | 78% | 85% | 84% | 86% | 87% | 92% | 88% |
Dauphin County | 84% | 75% | 77% | 79% | 89% | 89% | 89% | 89% | 95% | 91% | 92% | 83% | 86% | 83% | 84% | 83% | 89% | 85% | 84% | 85% | 91% | 86% |
Lebanon County | 74% | 72% | 70% | 71% | 77% | 76% | 76% | 76% | 82% | 81% | 81% | 76% | 78% | 77% | 77% | 76% | 81% | 78% | 79% | 78% | 84% | 81% |
York County | 78% | 80% | 77% | 80% | 87% | 87% | 87% | 86% | 92% | 80% | 80% | 80% | 83% | 79% | 80% | 79% | 86% | 86% | 88% | 81% | 88% | 85% |
2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pennsylvania | 7,781,997 | 7,773,541 | 7,835,775 | 7,688,295 | 8,366,663 | 8,073,337 | 8,182,876 | 8,112,998 | 8,755,588 | 8,473,823 | 8,478,509 | 8,168,254 | 8,508,015 | 8,223,473 | 8,251,050 | 8,073,175 | 8,722,977 | 8,435,015 | 8,549,048 | 8,530,983 | 9,090,962 | 8,676,127 |
Lancaster County | 269,874 | 272,598 | 274,504 | 278,806 | 312,878 | 293,573 | 299,487 | 303,184 | 326,501 | 313,654 | 317,635 | 301,562 | 314,567 | 307,481 | 311,498 | 309,581 | 335,791 | 320,884 | 330,605 | 325,296 | 354,296 | 293,110 |
Berks County | 210,944 | 216,852 | 215,040 | 211,811 | 235,166 | 238,697 | 237,355 | 238,188 | 259,102 | 247,228 | 252,248 | 240,843 | 250,356 | 247,453 | 246,433 | 240,766 | 259,800 | 249,788 | 248,719 | 252,188 | 272,244 | 264,437 |
Chester County | 293,425 | 282,669 | 288,722 | 292,684 | 324,747 | 290,269 | 300,832 | 292,265 | 325,692 | 327,936 | 332,031 | 320,604 | 337,822 | 331,893 | 335,581 | 325,158 | 354,459 | 346,137 | 358,230 | 351,925 | 380,357 | 372,842 |
Cumberland County | 132,308 | 126,247 | 129,607 | 132,508 | 144,727 | 134,349 | 137,297 | 139,330 | 152,349 | 147,650 | 150,533 | 152,255 | 158,194 | 148,322 | 151,051 | 153,481 | 166,965 | 167,632 | 173,379 | 175,047 | 187,257 | 183,070 |
Dauphin County | 159,823 | 144,461 | 149,431 | 152,773 | 173,227 | 174,869 | 177,647 | 178,161 | 192,724 | 186,866 | 189,520 | 172,057 | 178,924 | 174,690 | 176,358 | 174,991 | 190,301 | 181,584 | 180,924 | 184,050 | 197,820 | 190,406 |
Lebanon County | 68,415 | 66,711 | 65,334 | 66,721 | 73,618 | 73,247 | 74,985 | 76,187 | 82,440 | 82,894 | 83,838 | 78,909 | 81,476 | 80,026 | 80,717 | 80,183 | 86,878 | 84,092 | 85,883 | 85,222 | 92,641 | 90,423 |
York County | 224,298 | 233,331 | 227,131 | 240,218 | 264,134 | 268,802 | 275,269 | 278,979 | 299,414 | 264,148 | 268,108 | 269,098 | 280,280 | 268,268 | 272,227 | 270,366 | 295,895 | 299,428 | 306,764 | 284,891 | 311,108 | 305,558 |
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 |