Financial Security
People Living in Poverty

Decreasing


People Living in Poverty

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What does this measure?

The share of residents with incomes below the federal poverty level. Poverty thresholds vary by family composition and year. In 2022, the threshold for a four-person family with two children was $29,678.

Why is this important?

The percentage of people living in or near poverty is a measure of the overall economic health of a region. It also indicates the level of need for social and government supports.

How does our county compare?

In 2018-22, Lancaster County's poverty rate was 8%, below both the state (12%) and nation (13%). This was a decrease of 2 percentage points since 2008-12, the same decrease as in the nation as a whole during the same period.

In the City of Lancaster, 19% of residents lived below the poverty line, lower than the rate in 2008-12 by 9 percentage points.

Among surrounding counties, York (9%) and Cumberland (8%) had poverty rates similar to Lancaster in 2018-22. The rate was lower in Chester (6%), and higher in Berks and Dauphin (both at 12%) and Lebanon (11%). Lebanon was the only county to experience increase in poverty rates since 2008-12; all other counties either stayed the same or decreased by 1 or2 percentage points.

Notes about the data

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 expected to be released annually in December.

People Living in Poverty
2008-122013-172018-22
Pennsylvania13%13%12%
Lancaster County10%10%8%
Lancaster City28%26%19%
Lancaster County School Districts
School District of Lancaster25%24%16%
Cocalico School District6%*7%*7%*
Columbia Borough School District21%*20%*17%*
Conestoga Valley School District10%*12%*7%*
Donegal School District9%*10%**8%*
Eastern Lancaster County School District9%*9%*6%*
Elizabethtown Area School District8%*8%*6%*
Ephrata Area School District8%*8%*7%*
Hempfield School District7%*7%*4%*
Lampeter-Strasburg School District5%*5%**5%**
Manheim Central School District6%*6%*5%*
Manheim Township School District5%*6%*6%*
Penn Manor School District8%9%11%
Pequea Valley School District8%*9%*7%*
Solanco School District10%10%*10%*
Warwick School District5%*5%*5%*
Lancaster County Boroughs
Adamstown borough4%***4%***10%***
Akron borough8%***3%**9%**
Christiana borough21%***9%***11%**
Columbia borough21%*20%*17%*
Denver township3%***8%**7%***
East Petersburg borough12%***4%***7%***
Elizabethtown borough9%*10%**8%**
Ephrata borough7%*11%*9%*
Lititz borough7%**5%**4%**
Manheim borough10%***11%***11%***
Marietta borough7%**16%**12%*
Millersville borough19%*20%*27%*
Mount Joy borough11%**8%**11%***
Mountville borough8%***18%***10%**
New Holland borough12%**9%***6%***
Quarryville borough7%**8%**17%**
Strasburg borough8%**5%***6%***
Terre Hill borough4%***5%***12%***
Lancaster County Townships
Bart township12%**8%***5%***
Brecknock township5%***6%**3%***
Caernarvon township12%**9%***8%***
Clay township8%***9%**5%**
Colerain township6%***11%***18%**
Conestoga township5%***4%***6%***
Conoy township3%***16%**7%***
Drumore township20%**10%**7%***
Earl township11%***11%***10%***
East Cocalico township8%**8%**5%**
East Donegal township4%***6%***4%***
East Drumore township7%**6%***8%***
East Earl township9%***10%***3%***
East Hempfield township6%*6%**3%**
East Lampeter township9%*12%*9%**
Eden township18%**13%**4%***
Elizabeth township8%***5%***5%***
Ephrata township9%**5%*5%**
Fulton township17%**11%***7%***
Lancaster township16%*13%*9%**
Leacock township6%***7%***6%***
Little Britain township9%***3%***10%***
Manheim township5%*6%*6%*
Manor township5%*7%*10%**
Martic township9%***8%***7%***
Mount Joy township14%*11%***4%***
Paradise township11%**17%***9%**
Penn township3%***7%**4%**
Pequea township8%***3%**4%***
Providence township7%***14%***10%***
Rapho township7%***4%**3%***
Sadsbury township8%***8%***11%***
Salisbury township8%**7%***6%***
Strasburg township10%***4%***8%***
Upper Leacock township11%*14%*8%**
Warwick township3%**5%**6%*
West Cocalico township6%**6%***8%***
West Donegal township5%**2%***7%***
West Earl township10%**12%***4%***
West Hempfield township6%*8%**3%***
West Lampeter township4%**6%**3%**
Berks County14%14%12%
Chester County7%7%6%
Cumberland County8%8%8%
Dauphin County13%13%12%
Lebanon County10%10%11%
York County10%10%9%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%.




Number of People Living in Poverty
2008-122013-172018-22
Pennsylvania1,604,4641,623,5371,482,439
Lancaster County52,12154,24444,195
Lancaster City15,32614,85310,197
Lancaster County School Districts
School District of Lancaster17,79216,96711,799
Cocalico School District1,421*1,700*1,660*
Columbia Borough School District2,137*1,992*1,646*
Conestoga Valley School District3,184*4,220*2,603*
Donegal School District1,840*2,209**1,673*
Eastern Lancaster County School District3,017*2,790*1,950*
Elizabethtown Area School District2,177*2,266*1,926*
Ephrata Area School District2,620*2,804*2,566*
Hempfield School District3,156*3,520*1,916*
Lampeter-Strasburg School District1,184*1,270**1,187**
Manheim Central School District1,480*1,638*1,360*
Manheim Township School District1,977*2,275*2,364*
Penn Manor School District3,1203,5194,767
Pequea Valley School District1,735*2,116*1,485*
Solanco School District3,2633,109*3,233*
Warwick School District1,559*1,506*1,592*
Lancaster County Boroughs
Adamstown borough71***77***236***
Akron borough302***122**376**
Christiana borough195***73***89**
Columbia borough2,137*1,992*1,646*
Denver township110***319**255***
East Petersburg borough564***169***309***
Elizabethtown borough839*1,003**812**
Ephrata borough956*1,547*1,269*
Lititz borough670**437**342**
Manheim borough467***513***558***
Marietta borough191**426**336*
Millersville borough1,062*1,343*1,809*
Mount Joy borough841**636**894***
Mountville borough215***513***313**
New Holland borough668**462***323***
Quarryville borough186**210**476**
Strasburg borough215**151***192***
Terre Hill borough58***72***119***
Lancaster County Townships
Bart township359**261***148***
Brecknock township378***425**203***
Caernarvon township558**403***361***
Clay township497***591**369**
Colerain township200***418***704**
Conestoga township204***169***239***
Conoy township99***525**244***
Drumore township517**269**188***
Earl township751***740***710***
East Cocalico township823**839**549**
East Donegal township343***481***307***
East Drumore township263**229***289***
East Earl township604***688***234***
East Hempfield township1,461*1,556**798**
East Lampeter township1,452*1,952*1,586**
Eden township387**273**97***
Elizabeth township306***205***184***
Ephrata township865**544*552**
Fulton township521**352***239***
Lancaster township2,469*2,114*1,633**
Leacock township301***369***338***
Little Britain township364***117***397***
Manheim township1,977*2,275*2,407*
Manor township1,009*1,472*2,123**
Martic township469***399***347***
Mount Joy township1,332*1,230***460***
Paradise township576**915***482**
Penn township238***648**424**
Pequea township376***136**249***
Providence township466***980***695***
Rapho township775***477**378***
Sadsbury township264***270***379***
Salisbury township858**832***665***
Strasburg township425***172***371***
Upper Leacock township952*1,284*718**
Warwick township583**864**1,066*
West Cocalico township417**465***620***
West Donegal township372**174***546***
West Earl township780**984***299***
West Hempfield township916*1,282**496***
West Lampeter township541**947**550**
Berks County54,01754,76249,115
Chester County31,75334,44631,170
Cumberland County18,25918,11219,199
Dauphin County33,37635,51634,256
Lebanon County13,30614,08415,214
York County40,93144,34338,540

Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Notes: Multiyear results are from rolling American Community Survey. * Margin of error between 20% & 35% of estimate; ** margin of error between 35% & 50%; *** margin of error greater than 50%.




INDICATORS TREND
Prekindergarten Participation Increasing
Student Performance on Grade 3 English Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 8 Math Not Applicable
High School Cohort Graduation Rate Increasing
Per-Student Spending Maintaining
Students Receiving Special Education Services Increasing
Rate of Foster Care Admissions Maintaining
Disengaged Youth Maintaining
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Plans of High School Graduates Not Applicable
Enrollment in Local Colleges Decreasing
College Graduation Rates Decreasing
Brain Drain/Gain Increasing
Education Levels of Adults by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Average Charitable Giving Maintaining
Voter Registration Rate Not Applicable
Voter Participation Rate Increasing
Age of Housing Stock Not Applicable
Violent Crime Rate Maintaining
Incarceration Rate Decreasing
Incarceration Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Population Density Increasing
Air Quality Decreasing
Water Use Decreasing
Waterways Impaired by Pollution Not Applicable
Change in Population Increasing
Change in Population by Age and Gender Not Applicable
Population by Age Not Applicable
Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People with Disabilities Maintaining
Foreign-Born Population Increasing
Language Diversity Increasing
Change in Total Jobs Increasing
Change in Employment by Sector Not Applicable
Sector Share of Total Jobs Not Applicable
Workers by Occupation Not Applicable
Change in Labor Force Maintaining
People Entering/Leaving County/Region for Work Not Applicable
Average Salary by Sector Not Applicable
Change in Average Salary Since 2000 Increasing
Female to Male Earnings Ratio Maintaining
Employer Size Not Applicable
Change in Number of Businesses by Sector Increasing
Change in Total Agricultural Sales Increasing
Spending for Local Government Maintaining
Spending for School Districts Maintaining
Children Living in Poverty Decreasing
Children in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty Decreasing
People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Veterans Living in Poverty Maintaining
Working Poor Decreasing
Median Household Income by Household Type Not Applicable
Median Household Income Maintaining
Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Living Wage Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Households Receiving SNAP by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Household Receiving Temporary Assistance Maintaining
Students Eligible for Free/Reduced Price Lunch Increasing
Median Home Value Maintaining
Occupied Housing Units Maintaining
Homeownership Rate, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Cost of Homeownership by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Median Rent Maintaining
Cost of Renting Increasing
Households Without Vehicles Maintaining
Means of Transportation to Work, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People Without Health Insurance Decreasing
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Health Status Decreasing
Prevalence of Mental Illness Maintaining
Adults Who are Overweight or Obese Not Applicable
Mortality Rates Decreasing
Mortality Rate, by Race/Ethnicity Increasing
Fatal Drug Overdoses Increasing
Cancer Incidence Decreasing
Households With Internet Access Increasing
High-Tech Jobs Increasing
STEM Graduates Increasing
Science and Engineering Research and Development Maintaining
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Education Levels of Adults by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Incarceration Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Children in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Median Household Income, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Households Receiving SNAP by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Homeownership Rate, by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Cost of Homeownership by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable


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