Lancaster County, PA
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 40.04, -76.25.
Assembled 2026-10-20. Read the brief.
- 84th pct · 469th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 95th pct · 4th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $231,558
- counties in the Lancaster metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Lancaster metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 67th pct · 998th of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 72nd pct · 19th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median +3.3%
- counties in the Lancaster metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Lancaster metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 55th pct · 604th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 72nd pct · 14th of 49 Pennsylvania counties · median $1,322
- counties in the Lancaster metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Lancaster metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 96th pct · 129th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 93rd pct · 5th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 27,809
- counties in the Lancaster metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Lancaster metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 80th pct · 640th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 71st pct · 20th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $1,102
- counties in the Lancaster metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Lancaster metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 79th pct · 627th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 95th pct · 4th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 3.7
- counties in the Lancaster metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Lancaster metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $386,389 (Sep 2026), +4.3% over one year, +34.7% over five
- 84th pct · 469th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 95th pct · 4th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median $231,558
- counties in the Lancaster metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Lancaster metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lancaster County, PA | $386,389 · +4.3% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $1,575/mo (Sep 2026), +3.9% over one year; price-to-rent 20.4
- 55th pct · 604th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 72nd pct · 14th of 49 Pennsylvania counties · median $1,322
- counties in the Lancaster metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Lancaster metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lancaster County, PA | $1,575/mo · +3.9% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $2,140 a month on $386,389 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $5,369 a month: 39.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $386,389 × 80% = $309,111, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $2,140/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,239 × 52 / 12 = $5,369) = 40% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $386,389 / ($1,239 × 52) = 6.0
- price-to-rent = $386,389 / ($1,575 × 12) = 20.4
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
252,516 jobs at 14,802 employers (2026 Q1); +0.5% jobs and +2.8% average weekly wage over the year
- 96th pct · 129th of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 93rd pct · 5th of 67 Pennsylvania counties · median 27,809
- counties in the Lancaster metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 1 counties in the Lancaster metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Lancaster County, PA | 252,516 jobs · $1,239/wk · +0.5% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 46,509 | $1,221 | 1.22 | +3.2% |
| Manufacturing | 36,876 | $1,519 | 1.82 | -0.7% |
| Retail trade | 28,653 | $727 | 1.16 | +0.3% |
| Accommodation and food services | 19,911 | $471 | 0.88 | +0.3% |
| Construction | 19,681 | $1,524 | 1.49 | +3.3% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 13,989 | $1,183 | 1.31 | -1.2% |
| Wholesale trade | 12,549 | $1,436 | 1.30 | +0.7% |
| Professional and technical services | 11,138 | $1,649 | 0.64 | -0.7% |
| Other services | 8,458 | $894 | 1.12 | +0.9% |
| Administrative and waste services | 7,638 | $898 | 0.53 | -3.4% |
| Finance and insurance | 6,518 | $2,597 | 0.63 | -0.4% |
| Educational services | 4,317 | $906 | 0.79 | -0.3% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
No drought class at this point (USDM covers the United States only)
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
4 USGS reservoir gauges, no capacity figures to weight
Sites found: 4, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Marsh Lake near Bernville, PA | 287.9 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 42 km |
| USGS-01574700 | 373.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 45 km |
| Beltzville Lake near Parryville, PA | 628.1 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 104 km |
| Francis E. Walter Reservoir near White Haven, PA | 1,304 ft (USGS, no capacity on file) | 127 km |
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
188 gauges · 0 flooding · 60 with quality panels averaging 97 % · 54 stale
Sites found: 188, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-01482100 | flow 123,000 ft³/s · quality 67 % (3) | 74 km |
| Trout Run at Avondale, PA | flow 0.36 ft³/s · quality 67 % (3) | 47 km |
| CHRISTINA RIVER AT WILMINGTON, DE | flow 3,230 ft³/s · quality 50 % (2) · no flooding | 69 km |
| USGS-01576500 | flow 318.0 ft³/s · no flooding | 2 km |
| USGS-01576540 | flow 43.0 ft³/s · STALE | 4 km |
| USGS-015765265 | flow 0.12 ft³/s · STALE | 5 km |
| USGS-01576529 | flow 0.55 ft³/s · STALE | 5 km |
| USGS-01576521 | flow 1.00 ft³/s · STALE | 5 km |
| USGS-01576527 | flow 0.03 ft³/s · STALE | 5 km |
| USGS-015765195 | flow 1.27 ft³/s · quality 83 % (3) | 5 km |
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
122 wells in 0 named aquifers:
Sites found: 122, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
| Site | Reading | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| USGS-395957076155201 | depth 3.68 ft · 1994-04-18 | 5 km |
| USGS-395957076155204 | depth 2.06 ft · 1994-03-27 | 5 km |
| USGS-395957076155202 | depth 4.37 ft · 1994-04-18 | 5 km |
| USGS-395957076155203 | depth 3.04 ft · 1994-04-18 | 5 km |
| USGS-400506076235201 | depth 32.8 ft · 2001-06-24 | 13 km |
| USGS-401145076111501 | depth 19.6 ft · 1988-04-06 | 18 km |
| USGS-401147076110801 | depth 21.3 ft · 1988-04-05 | 18 km |
| USGS-401150076110701 | depth 9.26 ft · 1988-04-05 | 18 km |
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
low (0.01)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.00 + 0.2×0.03 / 0.55
Banks & federal dollars #
$18.9 bn in deposits at 145 offices of 25 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 1,422, moderately concentrated. $3.6 bn federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $3.3 bn, contracts $198.8 m), $14,302 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Fulton Bank, National Association | $5.5 bn · 29.4% share · 20 offices | |
| Truist Bank | $3.0 bn · 16.0% share · 19 offices | |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $1.7 bn · 9.1% share · 13 offices | |
| Lancaster, PA | $3.6 bn FY2026 · $14,302/job | |
| MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS | $3.2 bn · top recipient FY2026 |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fulton Bank, National Association | $5,544,923,000 | 29.4% | 20 |
| Truist Bank | $3,012,146,000 | 16.0% | 19 |
| PNC Bank, National Association | $1,711,452,000 | 9.1% | 13 |
| The Ephrata National Bank | $1,686,987,000 | 8.9% | 16 |
| Bank of Bird-in-Hand | $1,455,375,000 | 7.7% | 11 |
| Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $1,034,525,000 | 5.5% | 6 |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | $670,609,000 | 3.6% | 8 |
| Northwest Bank | $567,978,000 | 3.0% | 8 |
| Univest Bank and Trust Co. | $515,250,000 | 2.7% | 5 |
| First National Bank of Pennsylvania | $499,187,000 | 2.6% | 4 |
Deposit concentration is 1,422 across 25 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls moderately concentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 25 banks with deposits in the county = 29.4² + 16.0² + 9.1² + … (22 more) = 1,422
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
USAspending place-of-performance obligations for FY2026, by awarding agency.
| Awarding agency | Obligations |
|---|---|
| Social Security Administration | $2,980,203,278 |
| Department of Agriculture | $268,841,824 |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $185,865,314 |
| Department of Transportation | $59,172,961 |
| Department of Housing and Urban Development | $30,622,669 |
| Department of Education | $29,137,629 |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $18,553,816 |
| Railroad Retirement Board | $14,194,559 |
| Department of Defense | $12,153,208 |
| Federal Communications Commission | $7,922,980 |
| Department of Justice | $2,852,434 |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $1,196,396 |
That is $14,302 per covered job, against 252,516 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $3.6 bn / 252,516 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $14,302
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
Public companies #
5 public companies file with the SEC from a business address here (ENB Financial Corp, ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES INC, DONEGAL GROUP INC, and 2 more). The snapshot was pulled 2026-10-20; 4 of 5 carry financial facts. The county's jobs mix maps to 9 GICS sectors, led by Consumer Staples.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| ENB Financial Corp | ENBP · OTC · Financials · EPHRATA, PA 17522 | |
| ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES INC | AWI · NYSE · Materials · LANCASTER, PA 17603 | |
| DONEGAL GROUP INC | DGICA · Nasdaq · Financials · MARIETTA, PA 17547 | |
| Donnelley Financial Solutions, Inc. | DFIN · NYSE · Industrials · LANCASTER, PA 17601 | |
| UNLOCKD, Inc. | BFCH · OTC · Materials · LANCASTER, PA 17603 |
Snapshot pulled 2026-10-20: 5 filers, 4 with financial facts.
Public filers whose registered business address with the SEC falls in this county, from a committed snapshot of EDGAR's company_tickers_exchange file. A position is the centroid of the address's ZIP code (Census ZCTA) or, where the snapshot says so, of its city: it is not a building. Legal entities only - no officer, insider or shareholder data is read, and Forms 3, 4 and 5 are excluded everywhere. Sector exposure is the county's BLS QCEW jobs mix bridged to GICS sectors by a convention documented in lib/companies/sectors.ts; a jobs mix is not a portfolio.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 17.40 | 2026-10-19 | -3.1% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.20 | 2026-10-20 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 255,129.00 | 2026-09-01 | -1.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 7.00 | 2026-10-13 | +133.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 101.91 | 2026-10-14 | +1.0% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.40 | 2026-10-15 | +0.0% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,221.00 | 2026-09-01 | -5.2% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,400.00 | 2026-09-01 | -0.2% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 652,115.00 | 2026-09-01 | +0.7% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Lancaster County, PA: 12 findings, 12 noted
noteLancaster County, PA's average weekly wage was 2.8% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +2.8 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteLancaster County, PA's covered employment was 0.5% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +0.5 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteLancaster County, PA's typical asking rent rose 0.3% from $1,570 in August 2026 to $1,575 in September 2026, on Zillow ZORI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.3% = (1575.4580627122643 - 1570.0140910375044) / 1570.0140910375044 × 100
- 1575.4580627122643 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-09
- 1570.0140910375044 = Zillow ZORI, 2026-08
noteLancaster County, PA's typical home value rose 0.3% from $385,182 in August 2026 to $386,389 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.3% = (386389.1137379554 - 385182.24339805386) / 385182.24339805386 × 100
- 386389.1137379554 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 385182.24339805386 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
noteLancaster County, PA's covered employment of 252,516 ranks 129th of 3,221 US counties, against a median of 8,232.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 96 on the 0-to-100 scale across 3221 US counties that published jobs.emp
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
Read all 12 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.