People who are working, but earning at or below the poverty line face numerous obstacles that may make it more difficult for them to improve their status. Like others in poverty, they may find it difficult to meet basic needs for food or shelter, as well as facing challenges in paying for services they may need to stay employed, such as transportation or child care.

In 2017-21, 3% of people employed in Lancaster County had incomes below the poverty line. This percentage was identical to Pennsylvania and the nation. Within the City of Lancaster, the percentage of working poor was 6%, a decrease of 3 points from 2012-16.

Among surrounding counties, the percentage of working poor was similar to Lancaster, with Chester and York at 2%, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin and Lebanon at 3%.

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 3 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.