Lancaster County’s economy has been performing comparatively well over the past two decades. From 2010 to 2024, total jobs in Lancaster County increased 16%, below the U.S. rate (20%), but above Pennsylvania’s overall rate (9%). This represents a positive rebound from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the county’s larger sectors, jobs were up 47% in Natural Resources, up 40% in Construction, up 31% in Health Care and social services and 29% in Professional and Business Services. Trade, Transportation, and Utilities had the largest absolute number increase in jobs during this period, gaining over 58,000 jobs, followed by Health Care and Social Assistance, which gained over 43,600 jobs.

Lancaster County agricultural sales grew 43% between 2002 and 2022. This was below Pennsylvania’s overall growth rates for sales (48%), and even further below the U.S. average growth of 66% since 2002 and at the lower end of the range for neighboring counties. However, this may be due to the fact that Lancaster already had a much larger agricultural presence than surrounding counties. With $1.85 billion in sales in 2022, it accounted for 18% of Pennsylvania’s total agricultural sales, more than double the amount of the nearest neighboring county by volume (Chester, at $736 million).

Business size was about average: in 2023, just under half (47%) of businesses in Lancaster County employed 1-4 people, 21% employed 5-9 people, 14% employed 10-19 people, and the remaining 18% employed 20 people or more. Only 3% of employers, a little under 400 businesses, had 100 or more employees. This was similar to the employer distribution throughout the state and nation.

Between 2000 and 2024, Lancaster County's labor force grew 16%, an increase larger than Pennsylvania, at 8%, and slightly lower than the nation, at 18%.

Since 2010-14, the number of Lancaster County residents in occupations related to Management, Business, Science and Arts increased by 33%, and those in Production, Transportation and Material Moving jobs by 11%. Production, Transportation and Material Moving jobs have declined by 10%.

In 2023, 35% of Lancaster County residents commuted outside the county for work, a smaller proportion of residents than in neighboring counties.

The total average salary in Lancaster County has increased 7% between 2010 and 2024. This compared to salary growth of 9% in the state and 12% in the nation.

In 2023, the three highest-paid sectors in Lancaster County were Financial Activities, with an average salary of $90,300, Construction, at $77,600, and Professional and Business Services, at $75,400. Salaries were higher at both the state and national level in each of these sectors.

In 2020-24, women in Lancaster County earned a median income of $31,500, or 58 cents for every dollar earned by men (a female-to-male earnings ratio of 0.57). This ratio was up 4% from 55 cents in 2010-14. The ratio was below the national average (0.68).