Financial Security
Working Poor

Decreasing


Working Poor

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What does this measure?

The number of employed individuals whose incomes fall below the poverty line. 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?

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.

How does our county compare?

In 2018-22, 2% of people employed in Lancaster County had incomes below the poverty line. This percentage was one percentage point less than Pennsylvania and the nation. Within the City of Lancaster, the percentage of working poor was 5%, a decrease of 3 percentage points from 2013-17.

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%.

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 released annually in December.

Working Poor
2013-172018-22
Pennsylvania3%3%
Lancaster County3%2%
Lancaster City8%5%
Lancaster County School Districts
School District of Lancaster8%5%
Cocalico School District2%*2%*
Columbia Borough School District4%*4%*
Conestoga Valley School District4%*1%**
Donegal School District3%**3%**
Eastern Lancaster County School District3%*2%*
Elizabethtown Area School District2%**1%**
Ephrata Area School District2%*2%*
Hempfield School District2%*1%**
Lampeter-Strasburg School District2%**1%***
Manheim Central School District3%*1%***
Manheim Township School District2%**2%**
Penn Manor School District4%*4%*
Pequea Valley School District4%**2%**
Solanco School District2%*2%*
Warwick School District2%**1%**
Lancaster County Boroughs
Adamstown borough1%***3%***
Akron borough1%***2%***
Christiana borough2%***5%***
Columbia borough4%*4%*
Denver township2%***2%***
East Petersburg borough2%***2%***
Elizabethtown borough1%***1%***
Ephrata borough3%*3%**
Lititz borough2%**1%***
Manheim borough4%***2%***
Marietta borough5%***4%***
Millersville borough12%**8%**
Mount Joy borough3%***5%**
Mountville borough8%***3%***
New Holland borough2%***2%***
Quarryville borough2%***5%**
Strasburg borough2%***2%***
Terre Hill borough3%***4%***
Lancaster County Townships
Bart township2%***1%***
Brecknock township3%***1%***
Caernarvon township3%***2%***
Clay township2%***1%***
Colerain township2%***5%**
Conestoga township1%***1%***
Conoy township4%***2%***
Drumore township2%***2%***
Earl township3%***3%***
East Cocalico township2%**2%**
East Donegal township2%***2%***
East Drumore township2%***1%***
East Earl township3%***1%***
East Hempfield township2%**1%***
East Lampeter township4%**2%**
Eden township5%*2%***
Elizabeth township2%***1%***
Ephrata township2%**1%***
Fulton township2%***3%***
Lancaster township5%*3%**
Leacock township2%***2%***
Little Britain township2%***2%***
Manheim township2%**2%*
Manor township3%**5%**
Martic township3%***1%***
Mount Joy township3%***0%***
Paradise township7%***3%***
Penn township2%***0%***
Pequea township1%***3%***
Providence township2%***2%***
Rapho township2%***1%***
Sadsbury township3%***4%**
Salisbury township3%***2%***
Strasburg township1%***0%***
Upper Leacock township4%**1%***
Warwick township2%***2%***
West Cocalico township2%***2%***
West Donegal township1%***1%***
West Earl township4%**0%***
West Hempfield township2%***1%***
West Lampeter township2%**1%***
Berks County3%3%
Chester County3%2%
Cumberland County3%3%
Dauphin County4%3%
Lebanon County3%3%
York County3%2%

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 Working Poor
2013-172018-22
Pennsylvania339,680310,199
Lancaster County13,7039,989
Lancaster City3,6372,248
Lancaster County School Districts
School District of Lancaster4,2582,648
Cocalico School District349*369*
Columbia Borough School District356*382*
Conestoga Valley School District991*347**
Donegal School District606**548**
Eastern Lancaster County School District703*442*
Elizabethtown Area School District383**268**
Ephrata Area School District623*618*
Hempfield School District859*436**
Lampeter-Strasburg School District382**137***
Manheim Central School District517*166***
Manheim Township School District698**699**
Penn Manor School District1,352*1,523*
Pequea Valley School District572**340**
Solanco School District565*594*
Warwick School District417**337**
Lancaster County Boroughs
Adamstown borough17***51***
Akron borough39***77***
Christiana borough13***34***
Columbia borough356*382*
Denver township67***68***
East Petersburg borough78***92***
Elizabethtown borough110***119***
Ephrata borough369*364**
Lititz borough118**55***
Manheim borough174***69***
Marietta borough97***84***
Millersville borough713**459**
Mount Joy borough181***321**
Mountville borough162***65***
New Holland borough108***84***
Quarryville borough47***99**
Strasburg borough47***53***
Terre Hill borough28***34***
Lancaster County Townships
Bart township42***14***
Brecknock township195***71***
Caernarvon township87***63***
Clay township78***62***
Colerain township61***135**
Conestoga township28***30***
Conoy township104***63***
Drumore township33***48***
Earl township158***150***
East Cocalico township170**152**
East Donegal township154***143***
East Drumore township51***31***
East Earl township127***40***
East Hempfield township384**141***
East Lampeter township508**281**
Eden township76*32***
Elizabeth township53***45***
Ephrata township137**115***
Fulton township55***65***
Lancaster township621*370**
Leacock township82***70***
Little Britain township74***70***
Manheim township698**729*
Manor township446**861**
Martic township121***30***
Mount Joy township284***26***
Paradise township266***123***
Penn township174***37***
Pequea township44***143***
Providence township126***100***
Rapho township169***60***
Sadsbury township59***101**
Salisbury township224***147***
Strasburg township30***0***
Upper Leacock township233**55***
Warwick township246***237***
West Cocalico township95***98***
West Donegal township59***60***
West Earl township250**11***
West Hempfield township235***138***
West Lampeter township305**84***
Berks County11,0219,668
Chester County10,2708,151
Cumberland County5,0285,348
Dauphin County8,2197,651
Lebanon County3,3143,393
York County9,9337,732

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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