Best PlacesDauphin County, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Dauphin County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Dauphin County ranks 591st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $83,974, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are noise, the weather, and property taxes.
The best neighborhoods in Dauphin County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Dauphin County
The parts of Dauphin County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Linglestown & Elizabethville
Local pay stretches further, prices have run up less, and incomes run higher.
Hershey
Crime runs lower and schools score higher.
Lykens, Grantville & Williamstown
It is quieter, though streets are more car-dependent.
Middletown & Hummelstown
More adults hold degrees.
Millersburg, Halifax & Dauphin
Tree cover is thicker, though fewer households have young kids.
Colonial Park & Progress
Fewer residents vote.
Steelton & Highspire
Homes cost less, though health care is harder to reach.
Harrisburg
Biking is better, though more homes sit empty.
Dauphin County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Dauphin County's strengths and weaknesses
Dauphin County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Walkability, cell coverage, and big-city access carry most of that.
The one real hole is noise, near the bottom of the country. The weather and property taxes also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Dauphin County ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 87% of counties
Where Dauphin County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 4% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 13% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Dauphin County
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dauphin County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,974, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Dauphin County's effective rate of 1.34%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Dauphin County
Dauphin County's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Dauphin County.
Who works in Dauphin County, and how
Work in Dauphin County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Dauphin County
Dauphin County has more late-night spots per resident than 70% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Dauphin County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Dauphin County growing, and who is moving in?
Dauphin County has grown about 8% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Philadelphia, PA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Dauphin County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Dauphin County, month by month
Dauphin County sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 69° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 91° | 79° | 68° |
| October | 72° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Dauphin County
The nearest airport, Harrisburg International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 78 miles away.
The best schools in and around Dauphin County
Schools across Dauphin County average a B−, better than 67% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Infinity CsA+ · 82% proficient
- Susquenita El SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Upper Dauphin Area El SchA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hershey MsA+ · 82% proficient
- Susquenita MsB+ · 50% proficient
- Central Dauphin MsB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Line Mountain HsA · 73% proficient
- Lower Dauphin HsA · 71% proficient
- Capital Area School For The Arts CsA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dauphin County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dauphin County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Dauphin County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Dauphin County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 76% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Dauphin County
Is Dauphin County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dauphin County ranks 591st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on walkability, cell coverage, and big-city access, and lowest on noise and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dauphin County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $245,357. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $83,974 median income, cost of living beats 76% of counties.
Is Dauphin County safe?
Yes, Dauphin County is safer than 68% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $287 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Dauphin County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 25. That works out to about 62 pleasant days a year, more than 8% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Dauphin County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Linglestown & Elizabethville, Hershey, and Lykens, Grantville & Williamstown. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Dauphin County good for families?
Schools beat 67% of counties, crime safety beats 68%, and childcare runs $949 a month.
Is Dauphin County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 76% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 64% of counties. About 17% of workers already work from home.
Compare Dauphin County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dauphin County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dauphin County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Dauphin County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dauphin County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dauphin County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dauphin County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dauphin County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dauphin County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.