County · Pennsylvania
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania has a quality-of-life score of 68 out of 100 (high), ranking #1,020 of 3,143 US counties. Within Pennsylvania it ranks #28 of 67 counties. It ranks best on distance to an airport (low), mental health care shortage (low) and distance to an Amtrak station (low). It ranks worst on time spent in the emergency room (high), fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (high) and child care cost burden (high).
- Quality-of-life score
- #1,020 of 3,143 counties
- Pennsylvania
- #28 of 67 in PA
- Population
- 293,351 (2025)
- Land area
- 525 mi²
- Density
- 558.9 /mi²
- FIPS code
- 42043
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 77 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US counties.
- Safety55#1,387/3,096
- Economy53#1,476/3,143
- Housing31#2,163/3,140
- Health66#1,065/3,144
- Healthcare93#232/3,143
- Environment10#2,806/3,108
- Education59#1,295/3,144
- Infrastructure97#91/3,144
- Community87#406/3,144
- Leisure & amenities67#1,034/3,143
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Dauphin County, Pennsylvania ranks highest and lowest among US counties (score = percentile, 100 = best).
Strengths
- Distance to an airport · low9 mi97/100Pennsylvania 36 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau
- Mental health care shortage · low0.0
- Distance to an Amtrak station · low6 mi96/100Pennsylvania 21 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau
- Primary care shortage · low0.0
- Primary care physicians · high102 /100k91/100Pennsylvania 80 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
- Public transit commuters · high1.3%
Weaknesses
- Time spent in the emergency room · high236 min3/100Pennsylvania 191 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high9.0 µg/m³6/100Pennsylvania 8.3 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Child care cost burden · high39.2%8/100Pennsylvania 34.6%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
- Effective property tax rate · high1.28%
- Public libraries · low0.3 /10k
- High ozone days · high1 days23/100Pennsylvania 1 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- Drought exposureWorsening
0% (2021) → 37% (Oct 2025–Sep 2026)
+37 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
- Access to exercise opportunitiesImproving
70.1% (2010 & 2021) → 88.7% (2022 & 2024)
+19 pts3 yearsUS 79.8% → 84.5%
- Child care cost burdenWorsening
26.1% (2020 & 2021) → 39.2% (2023 & 2024)
+13 pts3 yearsUS 24.5% → 27.9%
- Drug overdose deathsImproving
31.6 /100k (2021) → 13.8 /100k (Mar 2025–Feb 2026)
−56%5 yearsUS 30.8 /100k → 18.4 /100k
- Homicide rateImproving
8.7 /100k (2021) → 3.8 /100k (May 2025–Apr 2026)
−56%5 yearsUS 7.8 /100k → 4.8 /100k
- Cost of buying a home todayWorsening
21.0% (Dec 2021) → 31.0% (Aug 2026)
+10 pts5 yearsUS 26.4% → 34.1%
What changed in five years
How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.
Counties like Dauphin County, Pennsylvania five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.
Who lives here
Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
Jobs and pay
What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.
Pay in the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PALocal businesses
Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.
Federal contract spending
Federal grants & assistance
Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.
Public money & outcomes
Federal money per resident by fiscal year next to how the place changed, and, when its money jumped, how it compares with similar counties. A comparison, not cause and effect.
Representation in Congress
Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.
Metro area
The metro or micro area Dauphin County belongs to. A county is in at most one.
Cities and towns in Dauphin County
Places whose residents live mostly in Dauphin County, largest first.
- Harrisburg50,287
- Colonial Park18,032
- Hershey14,242
- Progress11,017
- Middletown9,632
- Linglestown6,957
- Rutherford6,890
- Steelton6,296
- Lawnton4,765
- Skyline View4,704
- Hummelstown4,527
- Paxtonia4,074
- Penbrook3,266
- Highspire2,732
- Millersburg2,531
- Bressler2,060
- Lykens1,878
- Paxtang1,662
- Palmdale1,542
- Elizabethville1,350
- Williamstown1,345
- Enhaut1,197
- Dauphin1,075
- Royalton941
Neighboring counties
Places that share a border, best score first.
Similar counties
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Lehigh County, PA70Alike on Primary care, Price level, Exercise access
- Berks County, PA62Alike on Foreign-born, Intl. migration, Child care cost
- Summit County, OH61Alike on Primary care, Child care cost, Bachelor's+
- Butler County, OH55Alike on PM2.5, Weekly wage, Exercise access
- Hamilton County, OH57Alike on PM2.5, Child care cost, Primary care
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
- PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
- Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
- Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
- Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
- Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
- National Risk IndexFederal Emergency Management Agency · release v1.20.0
- Health Professional Shortage AreasHealth Resources and Services Administration · release 2026-10-03
- Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
- Common Core of DataNational Center for Education Statistics · release 2024
- U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
- Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
- nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
- Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
- Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
- Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
- Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
- Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
- Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
- Air Quality Index Annual Summary by CountyU.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2025
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
- Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08
