What is the cost of living in Lancaster?

Lancaster has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 98.3, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 93.8, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,526/month.

What is the median salary in Lancaster?

The median salary in Lancaster is $63,734 annually (mean: $67,056). Top occupations include Retail Salespersons, General and Operations Managers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.

How safe is Lancaster?

The violent crime rate in the Lancaster area is 250 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1457 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Lancaster?

The state of PA has 2,930 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.6:1. Charter schools make up 6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Lancaster?

Childcare cost data is not currently available for Lancaster.

Is Lancaster a good place to relocate?

Lancaster has a Life Score of 41.1/100 (F), based on 6 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a below-average score, several dimensions likely pull the composite down; compare specific dimensions to see which ones.

Where does Lancaster sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Lancaster ranks #288 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Lancaster, PA

LiveAbility 44.5/100 places Lancaster #288 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

98.3
Cost index (US=100): $1,526
2BR rent / mo: $63,734
Median salary: 44.5
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Lancaster ranks #288 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (44.5/100), with its strongest marks in schools and safety.

#288
of 387 US metros · Near median: 13,078,751
metro-area population: 250
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,930
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: air quality (22/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Lancaster ranks #288 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 98.3 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,526/mo, median salary $63,734; LiveAbility Score 44.5/100, strongest in schools and safety.

Signature: LiveAbility 44.5/100 places Lancaster #288 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 98.3 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,526/mo.

LiveAbility 44.5/100 puts Lancaster in the bottom third (#288 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Lancaster area is 241,090.

Lancaster vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

45 Top 74% higher than 26% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Lancaster housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Lancaster MSA; housing RPP 93.8 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,526/mo.

Studio

$1,102

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,220

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,526

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,980

/month

4 Bedroom

$2,020

/month

Lancaster wages and employment

Lancaster posts 241,090 total employment with median salary $63,734 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$63,734

Mean Salary

$67,056

Total Employment

241,090

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Retail Salespersons	$30,280
General and Operations Managers	$98,810
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$29,150
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$28,580
Stockers and Order Fillers	$36,400

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Lancaster area from NCES.

Schools

2,930

Enrollment

1,664,154

Student:Teacher

13.6:1

Title I %

Life Score Breakdown

Lancaster's composite Life Score is 41.1/100 (F), computed across 6 of 7 dimensions (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized).

Cost

28/100

Weak

Wages

48/100

Average

Rent

30/100

Weak

Crime

69/100

Strong

Schools

16/100

Bottom decile

Environment

52/100

Average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Lancaster ranks #288 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 44.5/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Schools (84/100)

Schools

84
Safety

69
Job market

48
Climate

48
Low hazard

33
Housing

30
Cost of living

28
Air quality

22

What this shows Lancaster's strongest dimensions are schools and safety; its weakest among scored dims is air quality at 22/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Lancaster to

Albany Albany Albany-Schenectady-Troy Albuquerque Alexandria Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton

Metros near Lancaster on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Lancaster on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Lancaster cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Lancaster wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Lancaster?

Lancaster runs a $63,734 median salary at a 98.3 cost index, ranking #288 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Lancaster's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Lancaster head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Lancaster
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.