Best PlacesLebanon County, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Lebanon 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.
Lebanon County ranks 494th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $84,195, everyday costs sit below the national average, and good schools ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are the weather, noise, and state infrastructure.
The best neighborhoods in Lebanon 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 Lebanon County
The parts of Lebanon 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.
Palmyra & Annville
More adults hold degrees, schools score higher, and local pay stretches further.
Cornwall
More households have young kids and it is quieter.
Fredericksburg
Incomes run higher, though streets are more car-dependent.
Myerstown
Tree cover is thinner and biking is worse.
Jonestown
Prices have run up more.
Newmanstown
Fewer residents vote.
Lebanon
Crime runs higher and health care is harder to reach.
Lebanon County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 9% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Lebanon County's strengths and weaknesses
Lebanon County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Big-city access, low crime, and walkability carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. The weather, noise, and state infrastructure hold the score down. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Lebanon County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 94% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 93% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 86% of counties
Where Lebanon County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 14% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Lebanon County
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lebanon County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,195, 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 Lebanon County's effective rate of 1.27%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Lebanon County
Lebanon County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Lebanon County.
Who works in Lebanon County, and how
Work in Lebanon County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Lebanon County
Lebanon County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 77% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lebanon County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Lebanon County growing, and who is moving in?
Lebanon County has grown about 6% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Lancaster, PA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Lebanon County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Lebanon County, month by month
Lebanon County sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 31° | 22° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 64° |
| October | 69° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Lebanon County
The nearest airport, Lancaster, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 71 miles away.
The best schools in and around Lebanon County
Schools across Lebanon County average a B, better than 78% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Forge Road El SchA+ · 90% proficient
- Pine Street El SchA+ · 90% proficient
- Lingle Avenue El SchA+ · 85% proficient
Top middle schools
- Palmyra Area MsA · 63% proficient
- Annville-cleona MsB+ · 49% proficient
- Cedar Crest MsB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Palmyra Area ShsA− · 60% proficient
- Cedar Crest HsA− · 59% proficient
- Eastern Lebanon Co ShsB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lebanon County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lebanon 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 Lebanon County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Lebanon County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 71% of counties and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Lebanon County
Is Lebanon County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lebanon County ranks 494th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, low crime, and walkability, and lowest on the weather and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lebanon County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $244,902. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $84,195 median income, cost of living beats 71% of counties.
Is Lebanon County safe?
Yes, Lebanon County is safer than 94% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $194 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lebanon County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 22. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 10% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Lebanon County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Palmyra & Annville, Cornwall, and Fredericksburg. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Lebanon County good for families?
Schools beat 78% of counties, crime safety beats 94%, and childcare runs $886 a month.
Is Lebanon County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 71% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 53% of counties. About 12% of workers already work from home.
Compare Lebanon County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lebanon County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lebanon 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.
Lebanon County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lebanon County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lebanon County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lebanon County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lebanon County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lebanon 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.