563,293 people (2024 Census estimate, +1.9% since 2020)
944 square miles of land · 597 people per square mile
“Highest” and “lowest” are just order, not grades: a high rank for poverty or hazard losses means more of it. Each figure's source is in its section below.
98 active community water systems list Lancaster County in the area they serve, reporting 340,723 people served in all (a system that crosses county lines counts its whole population).
| CITY OF LANCASTER surface water · local government · PA7360058 | 120,000 served |
| COLUMBIA WATER CO surface water · private · PA7360123 | 25,200 served |
| EPHRATA AREA JOINT AUTHORITY surface water · local government · PA7360045 | 24,500 served |
| EAST HEMPFIELD WATER AUTH buys surface water · local government · PA7360063 | 20,988 served |
| ELIZABETHTOWN AREA WATER surface water · local government · PA7360124 | 19,000 served |
| MT JOY BORO AUTH groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · PA7360091 | 15,261 served |
| LITITZ BORO groundwater (surface-influenced) · local government · PA7360126 | 9,397 served |
| WARWICK TWP LITITZ SYS buys groundwater · local government · PA7360116 | 8,561 served |
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), active community systems, . Look up any system's violations and test results with EPA's search using its ID.
About 744 people were held in Lancaster County's jail, in Vera's latest figure (2024), or 219 per 100,000 residents ages 15–64. In 2019 it was about 784.
Source: Vera Institute of Justice, Incarceration Trends (built from federal Bureau of Justice Statistics jail surveys). Counties without their own jail, or that share one, may show no figure.
16 school districts have their office in Lancaster County. School taxes are usually the largest part of a property tax bill.
Spent $265.8 million — $235.6 million to run schools, about $23,383 per student, plus $12.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $102.3 million local (mostly property tax), $136.3 million state, $38.3 million federal. Long-term debt: $176 million.
Spent $140.8 million — $121.4 million to run schools, about $17,177 per student, plus $8.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $104.1 million local (mostly property tax), $38.5 million state, $8.7 million federal. Long-term debt: $75.9 million.
Spent $111.3 million — $95.1 million to run schools, about $16,005 per student, plus $7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $89.3 million local (mostly property tax), $25.3 million state, $5.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $138.1 million.
Spent $103.5 million — $83 million to run schools, about $14,950 per student, plus $7 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $67.8 million local (mostly property tax), $31.9 million state, $4.9 million federal. Long-term debt: $106.7 million.
Spent $109 million — $72 million to run schools, about $18,129 per student, plus $27.6 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $65.2 million local (mostly property tax), $18.8 million state, $10.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $135.5 million.
Spent $85.1 million — $71.6 million to run schools, about $18,121 per student, plus $8.3 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $55.5 million local (mostly property tax), $26.5 million state, $5.1 million federal. Long-term debt: $31.7 million.
Spent $83 million — $66.8 million to run schools, about $17,787 per student, plus $11.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $58.9 million local (mostly property tax), $25.2 million state, $2.8 million federal. Long-term debt: $28.8 million.
Spent $72.7 million — $63.8 million to run schools, about $17,525 per student, plus $1.4 million on buildings and equipment. Money in: $54 million local (mostly property tax), $23.2 million state, $3.4 million federal. Long-term debt: $51.2 million.
And 8 more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 Annual Survey of School System Finances. Districts are listed by the county of their main office; some serve neighboring counties too.
Source: County Health Rankings & Roadmaps 2025 (University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute), which gathers federal data (CDC, Census, and others); measures cover different recent years. Blank lines aren't reported for small counties.
Overall risk: Relatively High compared with other U.S. counties. FEMA estimates natural hazards cost Lancaster County about $170 million a year on average in buildings, crops and lives. Ability to bounce back (community resilience): Relatively High; social vulnerability: Relatively Moderate.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025), expected annual loss. Ratings compare counties nationwide; they're estimates, not predictions.
801 bridges in Lancaster County: 242 in good condition, 472 fair, and 87 poor (10.9%). “Poor” means a main part — the deck, the beams, or the supports — is rated 4 or lower on the federal 0–9 scale. It doesn't mean unsafe to drive; unsafe bridges are closed.
| SR 4009 over Eliminated RR Tracks · built 1946 | 16,883 vehicles a day |
| Dillerville Rd over NS RR · built 1946 | 16,883 vehicles a day |
| PA 741; SR 0741 over AMTRAK/NSRC · built 1969 | 16,483 vehicles a day |
| PA 72; s.main st over CHICKIES CREEK · built 1955 | 13,915 vehicles a day |
| PA 462; SR 0462 over SUSQUE RVR;SR0624 NS RR · built 1929 | 10,826 vehicles a day |
| PA 340; Old Phila over Mill Creek · built 1951 | 10,329 vehicles a day |
Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Bridge Inventory (2025 submission). Includes state, county and city bridges.
Federal grants paid for $96.6 million of work in Lancaster County in fiscal 2025, about $175 per resident — to the county, cities, schools, hospitals, nonprofits and others.
Source: USAspending.gov, grants by place of performance, fiscal 2025 (Oct. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Search it by county to see each award.
From Grants.gov: posted grants listing county governments as eligible, soonest deadline first; research-only and overseas programs left out; list updated 2026-10-13, refreshed weekly. 62 are open in all. Cities, towns, school districts and nonprofits have their own lists there.
Registration deadlines, early voting and polling places for Pennsylvania are on the federal site vote.gov, which links to the state's official election office.
The budget, property tax rates, audits, local officials and offices for Lancaster County come from the county's own records, which we haven't gathered — not gathered, never hidden. See what a full county site looks like, or ask to have Lancaster County built: brayden.ozark@gmail.com.
More of Pennsylvania: the state government and every county in Pennsylvania.
Nearby counties: Lebanon County (25 mi) · York County (27 mi) · Chester County (27 mi) · Berks County (31 mi) · Harford County, MD (35 mi) · Cecil County, MD (37 mi).