Best PlacesYork County, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in York 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.
York County ranks 267th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $89,891, everyday costs sit below the national average, and good schools ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are property taxes, the weather, and state infrastructure.
The best neighborhoods in York 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 York County
The parts of York 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.
Shiloh & Thomasville
Crime runs lower, prices have run up less, and more residents vote.
Stewartstown, Shrewsbury & New Freedom
Streets are more car-dependent and biking is worse.
Dillsburg, Dover & Weigelstown
Tree cover is thicker, though fewer households have young kids.
Glen Rock, Seven Valleys & Jacobus
Local pay stretches further and schools score higher.
Manchester, York Haven & North York
Incomes run higher, though it is noisier.
Red Lion, Dallastown & East York
Hanover & Spring Grove
Scores close to Red Lion, Dallastown & East York, except that fewer adults hold degrees here.
Wrightsville, Mount Wolf & Hallam
Scores close to Hanover & Spring Grove, except that commutes are shorter here.
York
Transit reaches more jobs, though health care is harder to reach.
York County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 7% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
York County's strengths and weaknesses
York County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Few empty homes, big-city access, and low crime carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Property taxes, the weather, 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 York County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of counties
Where York County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 11% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 22% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in York County
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median York County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $89,891, 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 York County's effective rate of 1.60%, 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 York County
York County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for York County.
Who works in York County, and how
Work in York County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in York County
York County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. The coast is about 65 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of York County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is York County growing, and who is moving in?
York County has grown about 7% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Baltimore, MD.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving York County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in York County, month by month
York County sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 21° |
| April | 67° | 53° | 39° |
| July | 89° | 76° | 64° |
| October | 70° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of York County
The nearest airport, Harrisburg International, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, about 53 miles away.
The best schools in and around York County
Schools across York County average a B+, better than 87% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Red Mill El SchA+ · 90% proficient
- New Salem El SchA+ · 85% proficient
- Stewartstown El SchA+ · 85% proficient
Top middle schools
- Shallow Brook Inter SchA+ · 85% proficient
- Spring Forge Intrd SchA+ · 69% proficient
- Dallastown Area Intermediate SchA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- York Suburban ShsA+ · 91% proficient
- Spring Grove Area HsA+ · 90% proficient
- Northern HsA+ · 85% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every York County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
York 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 York County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who York County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 86% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 13% already work from home.
Common questions about living in York County
Is York County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, York County ranks 267th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, big-city access, and low crime, and lowest on property taxes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is York County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $254,842. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $89,891 median income, cost of living beats 86% of counties.
Is York County safe?
Yes, York County is safer than 96% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $197 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in York County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 21. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 11% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in York County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Shiloh & Thomasville, Stewartstown, Shrewsbury & New Freedom, and Dillsburg, Dover & Weigelstown. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is York County good for families?
Schools beat 87% of counties, crime safety beats 96%, and childcare runs $921 a month.
Is York County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 86% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 75% of counties. About 13% of workers already work from home.
Compare York County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to York County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in York 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.
York County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for York County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in York County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of York County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in York County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
York 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.