Lycoming County, PA

County Profile

113,489 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Lycoming County, PA.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

64out of 100
Area Score
Top 42% of 1,225 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 28% of 1,255 counties66
SchoolsTop 29% of 973 counties67
Growth804th of 1,226 counties42
Housing affordabilityTop 30% of 1,255 counties98
Climate805th of 1,254 counties63
Physical resilience729th of 1,255 counties54
Access991st of 1,255 counties65
Economic stability716th of 1,255 counties57
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.0% and median household income $63,917, putting employment conditions in the middle range of published profiles.

In the public schools here, 38% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 13.6 students for every teacher.

Rent takes 17% of median household income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.2 times that income.

At a glance

Population
113,489
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$63,917
Bottom 47% nationally
Density
92/sq mi
1228.9 sq mi of land
Median age
41.4
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Lycoming County
Pennsylvania
Metro area
Williamsport, PA
Nearest major airport
ELM
57 mi · Elmira/Corning Rgnl
Median home value
$202,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 4.0% is lower than 58% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment grew 4.6% over the past year, to 51,511 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$2,280$63,917Bottom 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,257$35,479Top 47%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate12.8%Bottom 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute21.9 minBottom 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher24.8%Top 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment51,511Top 44%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.6%Top 34%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)4.6%Top 1%June 2026
Labor force53,649Top 44%June 2026
Labor force participation59.7%Top 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.8%Bottom 9%June 2026
Unemployment rate4.0%Bottom 42%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/067.33.4
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 4.0% in June 2026. 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.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
202120222023202464k58k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $63,917 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Williamsport, PA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides1,750$28,540
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,410$27,400
Retail Salespersons1,300$30,430
General and Operations Managers1,280$93,610
Registered Nurses1,230$94,300
Office Clerks, General1,110$42,050

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.

38% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 54% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 13.6 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
30
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
13.6
across all schools here
Math proficiency
37.9%
Top 26% in Pennsylvania
Reading proficiency
53.9%
Top 45% in Pennsylvania
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Williamsport Area SHSWilliamsport Area SD1,46214.2
Hughesville JSHSEast Lycoming SD72815.542%57%
Donald E. Schick SchLoyalsock Township SD72114.151%59%
Williamsport Area MSWilliamsport Area SD70613.321%32%
Jersey Shore Area SHSJersey Shore Area SD67212.4
Montoursville Area SHSMontoursville Area SD57014.6
Jackson Primary SchWilliamsport Area SD55514.637%47%
Joseph C Ashkar El SchEast Lycoming SD55315.850%62%
Lycoming Valley Intrmd SchWilliamsport Area SD54312.644%60%
Cochran Primary SchWilliamsport Area SD53813.432%37%
C E McCall MSMontoursville Area SD53014.334%62%
Curtin Intrmd SchWilliamsport Area SD52511.729%44%

60.2% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Pennsylvania’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $913 takes 17% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.2 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
17.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.2×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$913
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$202,200
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.16Top 42%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate69.1%Bottom 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±7752,715Top 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$25$913Top 42%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$5,768$202,200Top 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income17.1%Top 48%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate11.1%Bottom 35%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
42/ 100
Ranks 804 of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is broadly steady, measured from 2022 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 fallen 1% since 2020, reaching 113,236 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.7 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
80
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.7
Bottom 10% nationally
Year over year
+21%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024114k113k
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.
Housing units permitted per year
20222023202420258748
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2022 (+56%).

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 20°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 43.5 inches, including 35.8 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 39, in the Good band, and one day a year passes 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WILLIAMSPORT, 9.8 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND4.8"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index61.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation43.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall35.8"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low20°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high85°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10012024 calendar year
Median air quality index39.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing46°F1991-2020 Normals
Air quality
Median air quality index
39
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
61
90th percentile index
Days above 100
1
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

54 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hurricane and heat wave.

Inland floodingElevated
HurricaneModerate
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, strong wind, landslide, avalanche, lightning, tornado, earthquake, cold wave, wildfire, hail, ice storm.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Lycoming County records 3.9 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 13.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 8.9 per 100,000 residents in Lycoming County.

Homicide
3.9
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
13.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
8.9
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
17.7
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Lycoming County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Lycoming County rather than Lycoming County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 57 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Elmira/Corning RgnlELM57 mi8,001 ft
Harrisburg IntlMDT81 mi10,001 ft
Frederick Douglass/Greater Rochester IntlROC127 mi8,001 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
64
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.

Cities in Lycoming County, PA