Lancaster County’s economy has been performing comparatively well over the past two decades. From 2001 to 2020, total jobs in Lancaster County increased 13%, below the U.S. rate (15%), but above Pennsylvania’s overall rate (-1%). The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly had a dramatic impact on the national, state and local economies. Health Care and Social Assistance, one of Lancaster’s largest employment sectors, may not be too negatively affected by the pandemic, while other sectors, such as Professional and Business Services, will likely show more of an impact.

Among the county’s larger sectors, jobs were up 92% in Education, up 63% in Health Care and Social Assistance, up 38% in Natural Resources and down 31% in Information. Health, with 13% growth, saw the largest absolute number increase in jobs during this period, gaining almost 43,000 new jobs.

The total number of businesses in the county increased 27% from 2000 to 2020, compared to 15% in the state and 33% in the nation. This is substantially above neighboring counties. The largest percentage gains for large-scale business sectors in Lancaster County were in Health Care and Social Assistance (82%), Professional and Business Services (50%), and Leisure and Hospitality (38%).

Lancaster County agricultural sales have grown 39% since 2002. This is similar to Pennsylvania’s overall growth rates for sales, but below U.S. average growth of 42% since 2002. Likewise, it is at the lower end for sales growth in comparison to neighboring counties. However, this may be due to the fact that Lancaster already has a much larger agricultural presence than surrounding counties. With $1.5 billion in sales in 2017, it accounted for almost 20% of Pennsylvania’s total agricultural sales, more than double the amount of the nearest neighboring county by volume (Chester, at $740 million).

Business size is about average: in 2019, just under half (47%) of businesses in Lancaster County employed 1-4 people, 21% employed 5-9 people, 15% employed 10-19 people and the remaining 18% employed 20 people or more. Only 3% of employers, fewer than 400 businesses, had 100 or more employees. This represents very little change for Lancaster County since 2000, and is similar to the employer distribution throughout the state and nation, although Lancaster County seems to feature slightly more large employers and somewhat fewer very small employers than both.

Between 2000 and 2020, Lancaster County's labor force grew 12%, an increase larger than Pennsylvania, at 5%, but smaller than the nation at 13%.

Since 2000, the number of Lancaster County residents in occupations related to Management, Business, Science and Arts has increased by 47%, and those in Service jobs by 30%. Production, Transportation and Material Moving jobs have declined by 7% and Sales and Office jobs by 4%.

In 2018, 34% of Lancaster County residents commuted outside the county for work, up 10 percentage points since 2002, but a smaller proportion of residents than in neighboring counties.

The total average salary in Lancaster County has increased 13% between 2000 and 2020. This compares to growth of 21% in the state and the nation.

In 2020, the three highest-paid sectors in Lancaster County were Financial Activities, with an average salary of $87,100, Construction, at $63,400, and Professional and Business Services, at $66,700. Salaries were higher at both the state and national level in each of these sectors

In 2016-20, women in Lancaster County earned a median income of $24,000, or 55 cents for every dollar earned by men (a female-to-male earnings ratio of 0.55). This ratio was up 8% from 51 cents in 2000. The ratio was below the national average (0.66).

Local governments in Lancaster County spent $1,240 per resident in 2019, up 52% from 2000, but down from $1,800 in 2014. Local government spending across Pennsylvania was higher than in Lancaster, at $1,700 per resident in 2019, an increase of 20% from 2000. Berks, Lancaster’s neighboring county had higher spending per capita than Lancaster in 2019.

Schools in Lancaster County spent $2,200 per resident in 2020, up about 30% from $1,700 in 2001. Lancaster’s spending per resident has been below the Pennsylvania average for each year since 2001.