York-Hanover, PA

Metro Area Profile

462,924 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the York-Hanover, PA metropolitan area.

72out of 100
Area Score
Top 6% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
OpportunityTop 10% of 835 metro and micro areas measured76
SchoolsTop 41% of 695 metro and micro areas measured56
GrowthTop 44% of 834 metro and micro areas measured54
Housing affordabilityTop 46% of 835 metro and micro areas measured75
Climate482nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured64
Physical resilienceTop 11% of 835 metro and micro areas measured83
AccessTop 20% of 835 metro and micro areas measured93
Economic stabilityTop 4% of 835 metro and micro areas measured92
The quick read

York-Hanover ranks in the top 10% of metro and micro areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.7% and median household income of $84,829.

In the public schools here, 52% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.1 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 1,340 units authorized over the past twelve months, 22% below the prior year. That follows a longer stretch moving the other way, through 2025.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
462,924
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$84,829
Top 12% nationally
Density
512/sq mi
904.4 sq mi of land
Median age
41.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Metropolitan area
Pennsylvania
Nearest major airport
MDT
19 mi · Harrisburg Intl
Median home value
$248,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.7%, lower than in 69% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment grew 3.2% over the past year, to 235,790 employed residents.

Median household income of $84,829 is higher than in 88% of measured US metro and micro areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,5222024 ACS 5-Year$84,829Top 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$5562024 ACS 5-Year$41,601Top 22%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year8.2%Top 8%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.3 minBottom 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year27.6%Top 41%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year76.9%46th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026235,790Top 13%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+1.2%Top 33%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026+3.2%Top 4%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026244,97287th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year82.5%Top 12%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage2025 OEWS$61,080Top 48%of 3922025 OEWS
Median annual wage2025 OEWS$48,170Top 46%of 3922025 OEWS
Metro employment2025 OEWS183,59068th percentileof 3922025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.2%2024 ACS 5-Year0.6%70th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−1.0%Top 11%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.7%Top 31%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year12.4%78th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/075.82.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.7% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Largest occupations — York-Hanover, PA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand7,360$43,380
Stockers and Order Fillers5,340$37,030
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,240$27,920
General and Operations Managers4,740$99,640
Retail Salespersons4,680$30,480
Cashiers4,040$29,360

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

52% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 66% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.1 students for every full-time teacher across 105 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
105
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.1
across all schools here
Math proficiency
52.1%
Top 45% in Pennsylvania
Reading proficiency
65.9%
Top 45% in Pennsylvania
The 12 largest of 105 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Dallastown Area SHSDallastown Area SD2,04617.375%79%
Central York HSCentral York SD1,75614.867%73%
William Penn SHSYork City SD1,68117.221%34%
York County School of TechnologyYork County School of Technology1,61514.363%72%
Dallastown Area Intermediate SchDallastown Area SD1,51916.252%76%
South Western SHSSouth Western SD1,38015.082%83%
Red Lion Area SHSRed Lion Area SD1,36312.765%75%
Northeastern SHSNortheastern York SD1,18916.175%89%
Spring Grove Area HSSpring Grove Area SD1,16314.482%86%
Red Land SHSWest Shore SD1,06115.667%81%
York Academy Regional CS · charterYork Academy Regional CS1,05816.042%60%
Emory H Markle MSSouth Western SD1,04614.351%66%

51.8% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Pennsylvania’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 3% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 97.1, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for this area is up 48% over five years, and up 6.1% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $4,006 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.61% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,335, some 12% above the $1,193 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,335 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $53,400 a year, about 63% of the median household income here of $84,829.

The typical renter household here spends 29% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,193 a month.

A median home at $248,600 costs 2.5 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $98,446, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
97.1

Prices here run about 3% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Price level for all consumption in this metropolitan area against a national average of 100. Housing dominates the spread between places; goods vary far less.

Rent as a share of income
29.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.5×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,335
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,193
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$248,600
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against York-Hanover’s median household income of $84,829, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living index202397.1Bottom 31%of 3862023
Home price change (1 year)2026 Q2+6.1%84th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)2026 Q2+47.7%64th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)2026 Q2+90.3%42nd percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.02024 ACS 5-Year2.5Top 45%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year76.3%86th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±2642024 ACS 5-Year189,85787th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,060Bottom 29%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,796Bottom 24%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,335Bottom 26%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$242024 ACS 5-Year$1,193Bottom 23%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$2,7232024 ACS 5-Year$248,60064th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$602024 ACS 5-Year$4,00690th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$1,4312024 ACS 5-Year$98,446Top 17%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year1.61%91st percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year29.1%Bottom 47%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±2522024 ACS 5-Year89448th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.5%8th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year3.9%5th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±7722024 ACS 5-Year8,27469th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

54/ 100
Top 44% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 3% since 2020, reaching 471,240 in 2024.

At 2.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
1,340
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.9
Top 46% nationally
Year over year
−22%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
20.7%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024471k457k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 85°F and January a low of 21°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 42.1 inches.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station YORK AP, 7.7 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals42.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals21°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

83 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and earthquake, with inland flooding alone responsible for 65% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 89% of measured US metro and micro areas.

HurricaneElevated
Heat waveModerate
EarthquakeModerate
DroughtModerate
LandslideModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning, cold wave, ice storm, tornado, wildfire, avalanche, hail, coastal flooding, tsunami, volcanic activity.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Harrisburg Intl at 19 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year90.3%Top 31%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle19 miTop 24%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 26%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year7.7%Top 40%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Harrisburg IntlMDT19 mi10,001 ft
Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood MarshallBWI52 mi10,503 ft
Washington Dulles IntlIAD78 mi11,500 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
72
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.