View source for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

{{Short description|County in Pennsylvania, United States}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county               = Lancaster County
 | state                = Pennsylvania
 | flag                 = Flag of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.png
 | seal                 = Lancaster County, PA seal.svg
 | founded date         = May 10
 | founded year         = 1729
 | seat wl              = Lancaster
 | largest city wl      = Lancaster
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 984
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 944
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 40
 | area percentage      = 4.1
 | census yr            = 2020
 | pop                  = 552984
 | pop_est_as_of        = 2024
 | pop_est_footnotes    = <ref name="qf4">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/lancastercountypennsylvania/PST045221|title=QuickFacts: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|website=Census.gov|access-date=July 7, 2023}}</ref>
 | population_est       = 563293 {{gain}}
 | density_sq_mi        = 597
 | web                  = www.co.lancaster.pa.us
 | ex image             = Lancaster County Courthouse - IMG 7712.JPG
 | ex image size        = 250
 | ex image cap         = [[Lancaster County Courthouse (Pennsylvania)|Lancaster County Courthouse]] in [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]]
 | time zone            = Eastern
 | district             = 11th
 | district2            = 
 | named for            = [[Lancaster, Lancashire|Lancaster]], England
}}

'''Lancaster County''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|æ|ŋ|k|I|s|t|ər}}; {{langx|pdc|Lengeschder Kaundi|label=[[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Pennsylvania Dutch]]}}), sometimes nicknamed '''the Garden Spot of America''' or '''Pennsylvania Dutch Country''', is a [[County (United States)|county]] in the [[Commonwealth (U.S. state)|Commonwealth]] of [[Pennsylvania]], United States. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 552,984, making it Pennsylvania's sixth-most populous county.<ref name=new-census/> Its [[county seat]] is also [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|archive-date=May 31, 2011}}</ref> Lancaster County comprises the Lancaster [[metropolitan statistical area]]. Lancaster County is a tourist destination with its [[Amish]] community being a major attraction. The ancestors of the Amish began to [[immigrant|immigrate]] to colonial Pennsylvania in the early 18th century to take advantage of the [[freedom of religion|religious freedom]] offered by [[William Penn]],<ref>[http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/PENN/pnintro.html Introduction] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208102924/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/PENN/pnintro.html |date=December 8, 2013 }}. Xroads.virginia.edu. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> as well as the area's rich soil and mild climate.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070311013849/http://www.students.bucknell.edu/hyeo/ lancaster, pa]. Web.archive.org (March 11, 2007; retrieved December 23, 2010.)</ref> They were joined by French [[Huguenot]]s fleeing the [[Edict of Fontainebleau|religious persecution]] of [[Louis XIV]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000823125832/http://www.pennsylvanialefevres.org/ THE PENNSYLVANIA LEFEVRES. History and Genealogy Book] accessed May 31, 2009</ref><ref>"Historical papers and addresses of the Lancaster County Historical Society" [https://books.google.com/books?id=FSoUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA113&lpg=PA113&dq=William+Penn+Isaac+LeFevre&source=bl&ots=-pNDoZ4RLn&sig=Kld6GfLcMZvF7lVi2m_2wQvdLvg&hl=en&ei=jRgjSuajC4bUNPzOgbwJ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPA106,M1|Lancaster County Historical Society] pages 101–124. pub 1917</ref> There were also significant numbers of English, Welsh and [[Ulster Scots people|Ulster Scots]] (also known as the [[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scotch-Irish]] in the colonies). The county is part of the [[South Central Pennsylvania|South Central]] region of the commonwealth.{{efn|Includes Lancaster, York, Berks, Dauphin, Cumberland, Franklin, Lebanon, Adams and Perry Counties}}

==History==
The area that became Lancaster County was part of [[William Penn]]'s 1681 charter.<ref>[http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/pa01.htm The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405015459/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/pa01.htm |date=April 5, 2015 }}. Yale.edu. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> John Kennerly received the first recorded deed from Penn in 1691.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.padutchcountry.comLancaster|title=County}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Although Matthias Kreider was said to have been in the area as early as 1691, there is no evidence that any Europeans settled in Lancaster County before 1710.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20000919040838/http://www.horseshoe.cc/pennadutch/places/pennsylvania/lancasterco/townships/marticprov/martic.htm Martic Township]. Horseshoe.cc. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref>

Lancaster County was part of [[Chester County, Pennsylvania]], until May 10, 1729, when it was organized as the colony's fourth county.<ref name="counties">{{cite web|url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/counties/county.asp?secid=31|title=Counties of Pennsylvania|access-date=October 4, 2006|format=Index of 67 Pennsylvania County Histories|publisher=Pennsylvania State Archives|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306043554/http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/counties/county.asp?secid=31|archive-date=March 6, 2009}}</ref> It was named after the city of [[Lancaster, Lancashire|Lancaster]] in the county of [[Lancashire]] in England, the native home of [[John Wright (businessman)|John Wright]], an early settler.<ref>[http://www.docheritage.state.pa.us/documents/lancasterpetition.asp Petition for the Establishment of Lancaster County] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060807113052/http://www.docheritage.state.pa.us/documents/lancasterpetition.asp|date=August 7, 2006}}, 6 February 1728/9</ref> As settlement increased, six other counties were subsequently formed from territory directly taken, in all or in part, from Lancaster County: [[Berks County, Pennsylvania|Berks]] (1752), [[Cumberland County, Pennsylvania|Cumberland]] (1750), [[Dauphin County, Pennsylvania|Dauphin]] (1785), [[Lebanon County, Pennsylvania|Lebanon]] (1813), [[Northumberland County, Pennsylvania|Northumberland]] (1772), and [[York County, Pennsylvania|York]] (1749).<ref name="counties"/> Many other counties were in turn formed from these six.

===Indigenous peoples===
Indigenous peoples had occupied the areas along the waterways for thousands of years, and established varying cultures. Historic Native American tribes in the area at the time of European encounter included the [[Shawnee]], [[Susquehannock]], [[Gawanese]], [[Lenape]] (or Delaware), and [[Nanticoke people]]s, who were from different language families and had distinct cultures.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/19990203143240/http://www.willowvalley.com/wvlancasterinfo.htm A Brief History of Lancaster County]. Web.archive.org (February 3, 1999; retrieved December 23, 2010.)</ref>

Among the earliest recorded inhabitants of the [[Susquehanna River]] [[valley]] were the [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]]-speaking Susquehannock, whose name was derived from the Lenape term for "Oyster River People". (The Lenape spoke an Algonquian language.)<ref>Brinton, Daniel G., C.F. Denke, and Albert Anthony. ''A Lenâpé – English Dictionary''. Biblio Bazaar, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1103149223}}, pp. 81, 85, 132.</ref> The English called them the Conestoga, after the name of their principal village, ''Gan'ochs'a'go'jat'ga'' ("Roof-place" or "town"), anglicized as "Conestoga."<ref>Zeisberger, David. ''Indian Dictionary: English, German, Iroquois—The Onondaga and Algonquin—The Delaware'', Harvard University Press, 1887. {{ISBN|1104253518}}, p. 161. The Conestoga never developed a writing system for their language; by 1700 they were defeated and absorbed by larger tribes of the [[Iroquois Confederacy]]. Their language is close to that of the [[Onondaga people]] of the Iroquois. They are believed to have migrated south from the [[Great Lakes]] region centuries before, as did the Cherokee, who occupied areas further to the South.</ref> Other places occupied by the Susquehannock were ''Ka'ot'sch'ie'ra'' ("Place-crawfish"), where present-day Chickisalunga developed, and ''Gasch'guch'sa'' ("Great-fall-in-river"), now called [[Conewago Falls]], Lancaster County.<ref>Zeisberger (1887), ''Indian Dictionary'', pp. 48, 222</ref>

Other Native tribes, as well as early European settlers, considered the Susquehannock a mighty nation, experts in war and trade. They were beaten only by the combined power of the Five Nation [[Iroquois Confederacy]], after colonial Maryland withdrew its support. After 1675, the Susquehannock were totally absorbed by the Iroquois. A handful were settled at "New Conestoga," located along the south bank of the Conestoga River in [[Conestoga Township, Pennsylvania|Conestoga Township]] of the county. They helped staff an Iroquois consulate to the English in Maryland and Virginia (and later, Pennsylvania). By the 1720s, the colonists considered the Conestoga Indians as a "civilized" or "friendly tribe," having been converted in large part to Christianity, speaking English as a second language, making brooms and baskets for sale, and naming children after their favorite neighbors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hsp.org/files/barberpaxtonexcerpt.pdf#search=%22paxton%20boys%22|title=Recollections written in 1830 of life in Lancaster County 1726–1782 and a History of settlement at Wright's Ferry, on Susquehanna River|access-date=October 9, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110330013256/http://www.hsp.org/files/barberpaxtonexcerpt.pdf#search=%22paxton%20boys%22|archive-date=March 30, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The outbreak of [[Pontiac's War]] in the summer of 1763, coupled with the ineffective policies of the provincial government, aroused widespread settler suspicion and hatred against all [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]] in the frontier counties, without distinguishing among hostile and friendly peoples. On December 14, 1763, the [[Paxton Boys]], led by Matthew Smith and Capt. [[Lazarus Stewart]], attacked Conestoga, killing the six Indians present, and burning all the houses. Officials sheltered the tribe's fourteen survivors in protective custody in the county jail, but the Paxton Boys returned on December 27, broke into the jail, and massacred the remaining natives. The lack of effective government control and widespread sympathy in the frontier counties for the murderers meant they were never discovered or brought to justice.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The March of the Paxton Boys|last=Hindle|first=Brooke|journal=[[William and Mary Quarterly]]|series=3rd|volume=3|date=October 1946|pages=461–486|doi=10.2307/1921899|issue=4|jstor=1921899}}</ref>

===Maryland-Pennsylvania boundary dispute===
{{main|Cresap's War}}
[[Pennsylvania]] had a longstanding dispute with [[Maryland]] about the southern border of the province and Lancaster County. Nine years of armed clashes accompanied the [[Maryland-Pennsylvania boundary dispute]], which began soon after the 1730 establishment of [[Wright's Ferry]] across the [[Susquehanna River]]. [[Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore|Lord Baltimore]] believed that his grant<ref>[http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/ma01.htm The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050305173720/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/ma01.htm |date=March 5, 2005 }}. Yale.edu. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> to Maryland extended to the 40th parallel.<ref name=cecil>[http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~amxroads/Homelands/cecil.html CECIL COUNTY MARYLAND: Where Our Mothers and Fathers Lie Buried]. Freepages.history.rootsweb.com. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> This was about halfway between present-day Lancaster and the town of [[Willow Street, Pennsylvania]]. This line of demarcation would have resulted in Philadelphia being included in Maryland.

New settlers began to cross the Susquehanna. In 1730, the Wright's Ferry services were licensed and officially begun. Starting in mid-1730, [[Thomas Cresap]], acting as an agent of Lord Baltimore, began confiscating the newly settled farms near present-day [[Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania|Peach Bottom]] and [[Columbia, Pennsylvania]], which at the time this was not named but was later called Wright's Ferry. Believing he controlled this land under his grant, Lord Baltimore wanted the income from the lands. He believed he had a defensible claim established on the west bank of the Susquehanna River since 1721, and that his demesne and grant extended to forty degrees north. If he allowed Pennsylvanians to settle his lands without reacting, he believed, their squatting would constitute a counter claim.

Cresap established a second ferry in the upper Conejohela downriver from [[John Wright (businessman)|John Wright's]], near Peach Bottom. He demanded that settlers either move out or pay Maryland for the right-bank lands. Settlers believed they already had rights to these under Pennsylvania grants. Cresap drove off settlers by vandalizing farms and killing livestock; he pushed out settlers from southern York and Lancaster counties. He gave the abandoned lands to his followers. If a follower was arrested by Lancaster authorities, the Marylanders would break him out of the lockup.

Lord Baltimore negotiated a compromise in 1733, but Cresap ignored it and continued his raids. A deputy was sent to arrest him in 1734, and Cresap killed him at the door. The Pennsylvania governor demanded that Maryland arrest Cresap for murder; the Maryland governor instead commissioned him as a captain in the [[militia]]. In 1736, Cresap was finally arrested; he was jailed until 1737 when the King intervened.<!--Explain - and did what? pardoned him?--> In 1750, a court decided that, by failing to develop the land with settlers, Lord Baltimore had forfeited his rights to a twenty-mile (32&nbsp;km) swath of land.<ref name=cecil /> In 1767, a new Pennsylvania-Maryland border was officially established by the [[Mason-Dixon line]].

===Diversity of settlers===
[[File:ThaddeusStevens.gif|thumb|Lithograph of [[Thaddeus Stevens]]]]
The names of the original Lancaster County townships reflect the diverse national origins of settlers in the new county:<ref>[http://www.pa-roots.com/~lancaster/maps/townships.html Lancaster County Townships] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061018185257/http://www.pa-roots.com/~lancaster/maps/townships.html |date=October 18, 2006 }}. Pa-roots.com. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> two had Welsh names ([[Caernarvon Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Caernarvon]] and [[East Lampeter Township, Pennsylvania|Lampeter]]), three had Native American names ([[East Cocalico Township, Pennsylvania|Cocalico]], [[Conestoga Township, Pennsylvania|Conestoga]] and Peshtank or Paxton), six were English ([[Warwick Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Warwick]], [[Lancaster Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]], [[Martic Township, Pennsylvania|Martic]], [[Sadsbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Sadsbury]], [[Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Salisbury]] and [[East Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania|Hempfield]]); four were Irish ([[East Donegal Township, Pennsylvania|Donegal]], [[East Drumore Township, Pennsylvania|Drumore]], [[Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania|Derry]], and [[Leacock Township, Pennsylvania|Leacock]]), reflecting mostly [[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scots-Irish]] (or [[Ulster Scots people|Ulster Scots]]) from [[Ulster]], a [[Provinces of Ireland|province]] in the north of Ireland; [[Manheim Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Manheim]] was German, [[South Lebanon Township, Pennsylvania|Lebanon]] came from the Bible, a basis of all the European cultures; and [[Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Earl]] was a translation of the German surname of [[Graf]] or Groff.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080105062438/http://www.lancasterhistory.org/education/lancastercounty.html Lancaster County Historical Society]. Web.archive.org (January 5, 2008; retrieved December 23, 2010.)</ref>

===19th-century statesmen===
Lancaster County's native son [[James Buchanan]], a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], was elected as the 15th President of the United States in 1856,<ref>[https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/history/presidents/jb15.html James Buchanan | The White House]. Whitehouse.gov (December 17, 2010; retrieved December 23, 2010.)</ref> the first Pennsylvania native to hold the presidency. His home [[Wheatland (Lancaster)|Wheatland]] is now operated as a house museum in Lancaster.<ref>[http://wheatland.org/ Welcome to LancasterHistory.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060820165625/http://www.wheatland.org/ |date=August 20, 2006 }}. Wheatland.org. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref>

[[Thaddeus Stevens]], the noted [[Radical Republicans|Radical Republican]], represented Lancaster County in the [[United States House of Representatives]] from 1849 to 1853 and from 1859 until his death in 1868.<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000887 STEVENS, Thaddeus – Biographical Information]. Bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> Stevens left a $50,000 (~$1,000,000 in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) bequest to establish an orphanage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stevenstech.org/services/library/Pathfinder+Stevens.htm|title=Pathfinder on Thaddeus Stevens|date=December 10, 2004|access-date=October 9, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041210064027/http://www.stevenstech.org/services/library/Pathfinder%20Stevens.htm|archive-date=December 10, 2004}}</ref> This property eventually was developed as the state-owned [[Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology]]. Stevens and Buchanan were both buried in Lancaster.<ref>see [[:File:Thad Stevens grave.JPG]] and [[:File:Buchanan grave.JPG]]</ref>

===Slavery and the Christiana incident===
{{Main|Christiana Riot}}
Pennsylvania passed its [[An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery|gradual abolition law]] in 1780.<ref>[http://www.millersville.edu/~ugrr/christiana/introduction.html Introduction] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071107103602/http://www.millersville.edu/~ugrr/christiana/introduction.html |date=November 7, 2007 }}, Millersville University. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> The law, which freed the children of duly registered enslaved women at the age of twenty-eight, was a compromise between anti-slavery conviction and respect for white property rights.<ref>[http://www.slavenorth.com/pennsylvania.htm "Slavery in Pennsylvania"], ''Slavery in the North'' website. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> By the time the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] passed the [[Fugitive Slave Law of 1850]], Pennsylvania was effectively a free state, although it did not formally abolish slavery completely until the ratification of the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Thirteenth Amendment]]. It did, however, pass a [[Personal liberty laws|personal liberty law]] in 1847 that made it difficult for southerners to recover any enslaved persons who made their way into Pennsylvania.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Turner|first=Edward Raymond|url=https://archive.org/details/negroinpennsylv01turngoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/negroinpennsylv01turngoog/page/n251 238]|title=The Negro in Pennsylvania: Slavery—servitude—freedom, 1639–1861|date=1911|publisher=American historical association|language=en}}</ref>

Lying just north of the [[Mason-Dixon line]] and bordered by the [[Susquehanna River]], which had been a traditional route from the [[Chesapeake Bay]] watershed into the heart of what became Pennsylvania, Lancaster County was a significant destination of the [[Underground Railroad]] in the antebellum years. Many residents of [[Germany|German]] descent opposed slavery and cooperated in aiding fugitive slaves. Local Lancaster County resident Charles Spotts found 17 stations.<ref>[http://muweb.millersville.edu/~twstproj/HIST272/1999F/pilpath.html pilpath] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060701182512/http://muweb.millersville.edu/%7Etwstproj/HIST272/1999F/pilpath.html |date=July 1, 2006 }}. Muweb.millersville.edu. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> They included hiding places with trap doors, hidden vaults, a cave, and one with a brick tunnel leading to [[Octoraro Creek]], a tributary of the Susquehanna.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}

As a wealthy Maryland wheat farmer, Edward Gorsuch had [[manumission|manumit]]ted several slaves in their 20s. He allowed his slaves to work for cash elsewhere during the slow season. Upon finding some of his wheat missing, he thought his slaves had sold it to a local farmer. His slaves Noah Buley, Nelson Ford, George Ford, and Joshua Hammond, fearing his bad temper, fled across the [[Mason–Dixon line]] to the farm of [[William Parker (abolitionist)|William Parker]], a [[mulatto]] free man and abolitionist who lived in [[Christiana, Pennsylvania]]. Parker, 29, was a member of the Lancaster Black Self-Protection Society and known to use violence to defend himself and the fugitive slaves who sought refuge in the area.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}

Gorsuch obtained four warrants and organized four parties, which set out separately with federal marshals to recover his property—the four slaves. He was killed and others were wounded. While Gorsuch was legally entitled to recover his slaves under the [[Fugitive Slave Act]], it is not clear who precipitated the violence. The incident was variously called the "Christiana Riot", "Christiana Resistance", the "Christiana Outrage", and the "Christiana Tragedy". The [[Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society]] helped provide defense for the suspects charged in the case.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}

The event frightened slaveholders, as black men not only fought back but prevailed. Some feared this would inspire enslaved blacks and encourage rebelliousness. The case was prosecuted in U.S. District Court in [[Philadelphia]] under the Fugitive Slave Act, which required citizens to cooperate in the capture and return of fugitive slaves. The disturbance increased regional and racial tensions. In the North, it added to the push to abolish slavery.<ref>Clayborne Carson, Emma J. Lapsanskey-Werner, Gary B. Nash, ''The Struggle for Freedom: A History of African Americans, Volume 1 to 1877'' (Prentice Hall 2011), p. 206.</ref>

In September 1851, the [[grand jury]] returned a "true bill" (indictment) against 38 suspects, who were held at [[Moyamensing Prison]] in Philadelphia, awaiting trial. U.S. District Judge [[Robert Cooper Grier]] ruled that the men could be tried for [[treason]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Christiana Treason Trial (1851) |url=https://housedivided.dickinson.edu/ugrr/case_1851.htm |access-date=June 8, 2022 |website=housedivided.dickinson.edu}}</ref>

The only person actually tried was Castner Hanway, a European-American man. On November 15, 1851, he was tried for liberating slaves taken into custody by U.S. Marshal Kline, as well as for resisting arrest, conspiracy, and treason. Hanway's responsibility for the violent events was unclear. He was reported as one of the first on the scene where Gorsuch and others of his party were attacked, and he and his horse provided cover for Dickerson Gorsuch and Dr. Pearce, who were wounded. The jury deliberated 15 minutes before returning a ''Not Guilty''. Among the five defense lawyers, recruited by the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, was U.S. Congressman [[Thaddeus Stevens]], who had practiced law in Lancaster County since at least 1838.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.masthof.com/bookstore/bookstore_viewbook.php?id=1619|title=Description of ''Treason at Christiana: September 11, 1851'' by L.D. "Bud" Rettew based on contemporaneous news clippings|publisher=Masthof.com|access-date=October 9, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011221625/http://www.masthof.com/bookstore/bookstore_viewbook.php?id=1619|archive-date=October 11, 2011}}</ref>

===Religious history===
The oldest surviving dwelling of European settlers in the county<ref>[http://www.hansherr.org/ Hans Herr House – Lancaster, PA – Hans Herr House Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060815131820/http://www.hansherr.org/ |date=August 15, 2006 }}. Hansherr.org. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> is that of [[Mennonite]] Bishop [[Hans Herr]], built in 1719. In 1989, [[Donald Kraybill]] counted 37 distinct religious bodies/organizations, with 289 congregations and 41,600 baptized members, among the [[plain sects]] who are descendants of the [[Anabaptist]] Mennonite immigrants to Lancaster County.<ref>{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20061023083314/http://www.adherents.com/adhloc/Wh_274.html By Location]}}. Adherents.com. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> The Mennonite Central Committee in [[Akron, Pennsylvania|Akron]] supports relief in disasters<ref>[http://www.mcc.org/news/ News| Mennonite Central Committee] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060821185839/http://www.mcc.org/news/ |date=August 21, 2006 }}. Mcc.org. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> and provides manpower and material to local organizations in relief efforts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MCC Service Opportunity: Canner Operator #1 |url=http://mcc.org/sites/mcc.org/files/media/hr/documents/canneroperator1.pdf |access-date=December 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141228192935/http://mcc.org/sites/mcc.org/files/media/hr/documents/canneroperator1.pdf |archive-date=December 28, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The town of [[Lititz]] was originally planned as a closed community, founded early in the 1740s by members of the [[Moravian Church]]. The town eventually grew and welcomed its neighbors. The Moravian Church established Linden Hall School for Girls in 1746; it is one of the earliest educational institutions in continuous operation in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lindenhall.org/content_09.aspx?cat=History|title=Lititz PA|publisher=Linden Hall|date=July 28, 2007|access-date=October 9, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002160747/http://www.lindenhall.org/content_09.aspx?cat=History|archive-date=October 2, 2011}}</ref>

In addition to the [[Ephrata Cloister]], the United Brethren in Christ and the [[Evangelical United Brethren]] (EUB) trace their beginnings to a 1767 meeting<ref>[http://www.mcusa-archives.org/historicalmarkers/1767_Issac_Long_Barn.html 1767 Isaac Long Barn] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070811032620/http://www.mcusa-archives.org/historicalmarkers/1767_Issac_Long_Barn.html |date=August 11, 2007 }}. Mcusa-archives.org (June 16, 1960; retrieved December 23, 2010.)</ref> at the Isaac Long barn, near the hamlet of Oregon, in [[West Lampeter Township, Pennsylvania|West Lampeter Township]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.topozone.com/viewmaps.asp?method=place&placename=oregon&statefips=42|title=www.topozone.com showing Oregon, Pennsylvania|publisher=Topozone.com|access-date=October 9, 2011}}</ref> The EUB, a German Methodist church, merged in 1968 with the traditionally English [[Methodist Episcopal Church]] to become the [[United Methodist Church]].<ref>[http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=346 History: Our Story – UMC.org]. Archives.umc.org (April 23, 1968; retrieved December 23, 2010.)</ref>

The first Jewish resident was Isaac Miranda {{Citation needed|date=October 2010}}, from the [[Sephardic Jewish]] community of London, who owned property before the town and county were organized in 1730. Ten years later several Jewish families had settled in the town; on February 3, 1747, a deed to Isaac Nunus Ricus (Henriques) and Joseph Simon was recorded, conveying {{convert|0.5|acre|ha}} of land "in trust for the society of Jews settled in and about Lancaster," to be used as a place of burial. This cemetery is still used by Congregation Shaarai Shomayim;<ref>[http://www.shaarai.org Congregation Shaarai Shomayim] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181231235250/https://www.shaarai.org/ |date=December 31, 2018 }}. Shaarai.org. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> it is considered the nation's fourth-oldest Jewish cemetery.

As of 2010, Lancaster County is home to three synagogues: the Orthodox Degel Israel; the Conservative Beth El; and the Reform Shaarai Shomayim. In 2003 [[Rabbi Elazar Green]] & Shira Green founded the Chabad Jewish Enrichment Center, a branch of the [[Chabad Lubavitch]] movement, that focuses on serving the Jewish students of [[Franklin and Marshall College]], as well serving the general community with specific religious services. The Lancaster Mikvah Association runs a [[mikveh]] on Degel Israel's property. Central PA Kosher Stand is operated at [[Dutch Wonderland]], a seasonal amusement park.

This area was also settled by [[French Huguenots]], who had fled to England and then the colonies in the late 1600s and early 1700s to escape Catholic persecution in France. Isaac LeFèvre and a group of other Huguenots settled in the Pequea Creek area.

===Inventions===
[[File:Frakturcertificate.jpg|thumb|A [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] Fraktur baptismal certificate from 1788]]
* [[Fraktur (Pennsylvania German folk art)|Fraktur]], the artistic and elaborate 18th- century and 19th-century hand-illustrated folk art inspired by German blackface type, originated at [[Johann Conrad Beissel]]'s [[Ephrata Cloister|cloister]] of German [[Seventh Day Baptists]] in [[Ephrata, Pennsylvania|Ephrata]].<ref>[http://antiquesandthearts.com/archive/frak.htm Fraktur] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060813155025/http://antiquesandthearts.com/archive/frak.htm |date=August 13, 2006 }}. Antiquesandthearts.com. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref>
* The first battery-powered watch, the [[Hamilton Electric 500]], was released in 1957 by the [[Hamilton Watch Company]].<ref>[http://www.thewatchguy.com/pages/HAMILTONELECT.html Hamilton Electric Watch History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051104002157/http://www.thewatchguy.com/pages/HAMILTONELECT.html |date=November 4, 2005 }}. Thewatchguy.com (January 3, 1957; retrieved December 23, 2010.)</ref>
* The [[Long rifle|Pennsylvania Long Rifle]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/19990222153107/http://ourancestry.com/rifle.html Story of the Pennsylvania Rifle]. Ourancestry.com. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> otherwise known as the "Kentucky" (Long) Rifle.
* The [[Conestoga wagon]],<ref>[http://www.explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=362]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022015742/http://www.explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=362|date=October 22, 2012}}</ref> which started the US practice of opposing vehicles passing each other to the right.
* The [[Stogie]] cigar<ref>[http://www.pa-roots.com/~westmoreland/historyproject/vol1/chap18.html History of Westmoreland County, Volume 1, Chapter 18] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060505041608/http://www.pa-roots.com/~westmoreland/historyproject/vol1/chap18.html |date=May 5, 2006 }}. Pa-roots.com. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> "Stogie" is shortened from "Conestoga".
* The Amish [[quilting|quilt]], a highly utilitarian art form, dates from 1849 in Lancaster County.<ref>[http://www.amishloft.com/amishloft/Lancaster_County_Amish_quilts.html Amish Loft Quilts] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819162012/http://www.amishloft.com/amishloft/Lancaster_County_Amish_quilts.html |date=August 19, 2006 }}. Amishloft.com. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|984|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|944|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|40|sqmi}} (4.1%) is water.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_42.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 8, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref>

Lancaster is bordered by [[Lebanon County, Pennsylvania|Lebanon County]] to the north; [[Berks County, Pennsylvania|Berks County]] to the northeast; [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester County]] to the east; [[Cecil County, Maryland]], to the south; [[Harford County, Maryland]], to the southwest; [[York County, Pennsylvania]], to the west; and [[Dauphin County, Pennsylvania|Dauphin County]] to the northwest.

===Climate===
Most of the county has a hot-summer [[humid continental climate]] (''Dfa'') and the [[hardiness zone]]s are 6b and 7a. The most recent temperature averages show areas along the Susquehanna River and in the lower Conestoga Valley to have a [[humid subtropical climate]] (''Cfa''.)
{{Weather box 
|location = Lancaster, Pennsylvania (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1949–present)
|single line = Y
|Jan record high F = 70
|Feb record high F = 82
|Mar record high F = 88
|Apr record high F = 93
|May record high F = 99
|Jun record high F = 97
|Jul record high F = 103
|Aug record high F = 101
|Sep record high F = 99
|Oct record high F = 93
|Nov record high F = 86
|Dec record high F = 76
|year record high F = 103
|Jan high F = 39.9
|Feb high F = 42.8
|Mar high F = 52.0
|Apr high F = 64.6
|May high F = 74.5
|Jun high F = 82.7
|Jul high F = 87.0
|Aug high F = 85.1
|Sep high F = 78.2
|Oct high F = 66.4
|Nov high F = 54.8
|Dec high F = 44.4
|year high F = 64.4
|Jan mean F = 31.0
|Feb mean F = 33.2
|Mar mean F = 41.4
|Apr mean F = 52.6
|May mean F = 62.4
|Jun mean F = 71.2
|Jul mean F = 75.9
|Aug mean F = 74.1
|Sep mean F = 66.9
|Oct mean F = 55.1
|Nov mean F = 44.4
|Dec mean F = 35.7
|year mean F = 53.7
|Jan low F = 22.2
|Feb low F = 23.6
|Mar low F = 30.9
|Apr low F = 40.5
|May low F = 50.4
|Jun low F = 59.7
|Jul low F = 64.7
|Aug low F = 63.0
|Sep low F = 55.6
|Oct low F = 43.7
|Nov low F = 34.0
|Dec low F = 27.1
|year low F = 42.9
|Jan record low F = −16
|Feb record low F = −9
|Mar record low F = −2
|Apr record low F = 16
|May record low F = 21
|Jun record low F = 33
|Jul record low F = 46
|Aug record low F = 37
|Sep record low F = 34
|Oct record low F = 23
|Nov record low F = 11
|Dec record low F = −3
|year record low F = -16
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 3.01
|Feb precipitation inch = 2.52
|Mar precipitation inch = 3.50
|Apr precipitation inch = 3.54
|May precipitation inch = 3.65
|Jun precipitation inch = 4.09
|Jul precipitation inch = 4.51
|Aug precipitation inch = 3.60
|Sep precipitation inch = 4.82
|Oct precipitation inch = 4.18
|Nov precipitation inch = 3.26
|Dec precipitation inch = 3.47
|year precipitation inch = 44.15
|Jan snow inch = 6.1
|Feb snow inch = 7.4
|Mar snow inch = 3.4
|Apr snow inch = 0.2
|May snow inch = 0.0
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 0.3
|Nov snow inch = 0.6
|Dec snow inch = 3.4
|year snow inch = 21.4
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 10.0
|Feb precipitation days = 8.8
|Mar precipitation days = 10.5
|Apr precipitation days = 10.9
|May precipitation days = 12.7
|Jun precipitation days = 11.1
|Jul precipitation days = 10.3
|Aug precipitation days = 9.7
|Sep precipitation days = 9.5
|Oct precipitation days = 9.9
|Nov precipitation days = 9.6
|Dec precipitation days = 10.9
|year precipitation days = 123.9
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 2.7
|Feb snow days = 2.7
|Mar snow days = 1.2
|Apr snow days = 0.1
|May snow days = 0.0
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.0
|Nov snow days = 0.3
|Dec snow days = 1.1
|year snow days = 8.1
|source 1 = [[NOAA]]<ref name = NOAA >{{cite web
| url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=ctp
| title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = August 7, 2021
| archive-date = July 5, 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120705132003/https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=ctp
| url-status = dead
}}</ref><ref name=NCEI>
{{cite web
| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00364763&format=pdf
| title = Station: Lancaster 2NE FLTR PLT, PA
| work = U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020)
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = August 7, 2021}}</ref>
}}

===Watersheds===
Almost all of Lancaster County is in the [[Chesapeake Bay]] [[drainage basin]], via the [[Susquehanna River]] watershed (the exception is a small unnamed tributary of the West Branch of [[Brandywine Creek (Christina River)|Brandywine Creek]] that rises in eastern Salisbury Township and is part of the [[Delaware River]] watershed).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.srbc.net|title=Susquehanna River Basin Commission: A water management agency serving the Susquehanna River Watershed|publisher=Srbc.net|access-date=October 9, 2011}}</ref> The major streams in the county (with percent area drained) are: [[Conestoga River]] and [[Little Conestoga Creek]] (31.42%); [[Pequea Creek]] (15.02%); [[Chiques Creek]] (or ''Chickies Creek'', 12.07%); [[Cocalico Creek]] (11.25%); [[Octoraro Creek]] (10.74%); and [[Conowingo Creek]] (3.73%).<ref>[http://www.chesapeakebay.net/wspv31/(3fwefm55tzka3q45qloiyxbu)/find.aspx?term=Lancaster%20County&topic=5]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011232212/http://www.chesapeakebay.net/wspv31/%283fwefm55tzka3q45qloiyxbu%29/find.aspx?term=Lancaster%20County&topic=5|date=October 11, 2011}}</ref>

===Protected areas===
Lancaster County is home to [[Susquehannock State Park]], located on {{convert|224|acre}} overlooking the Susquehanna River in [[Drumore Township, Pennsylvania|Drumore Township]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/susquehannock.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040212213427/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/susquehannock.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 12, 2004|title=Susquehannock State Park|access-date=September 16, 2006|publisher=[[Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources]]}}</ref> One of the three tracts comprising [[William Penn State Forest]], the {{convert|10|acre|adj=on}} Cornwall [[fire tower]] site, is located in northern [[Penn Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Penn Township]] near the Lebanon County border. The site, with its 1923 fire tower, was acquired by the state in January 1935.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/valleyforgehistory.aspx|title=History of the Valley Forge State Forest|access-date=September 16, 2006|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901171017/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/stateforests/valleyforgehistory.aspx|archive-date=September 1, 2006}}</ref>

There are six [[Pennsylvania State Game Lands]] for [[hunting]], [[Trapping (Animal)|trapping]], and fishing located in Lancaster County. They are numbers (with location and area): 46 (near [[Hopeland, Pennsylvania|Hopeland]], {{convert|5035|acre|ha}}), 52 (near Morgantown, {{convert|1447|acre|ha}}), 136 (near Kirkwood, {{convert|91|acre|ha}}), 156 (near Poplar Grove, {{convert|4537|acre|ha}}), 220 (near Reinholds, {{convert|96|acre|ha}}), and 288 (near Martic Forge, {{convert|89|acre|ha}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huntingpa.com/sgl.html|title=HuntingPA.com Game Lands: Pennsylvania State Game Lands, their general location and acreage|access-date=September 16, 2006|format=Searchable Database|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006163841/http://www.huntingpa.com/sgl.html|archive-date=October 6, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The county's southern portion has some protected [[serpentine barrens]], a rare ecosystem where toxic metals in the soil inhibit plant growth, resulting in the formation of natural [[grassland]] and [[savanna]]. These barrens include the New Texas Serpentine Barrens, privately owned land managed by [[The Nature Conservancy]],<ref>[http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/pennsylvania/preserves/art9593.html The Nature Conservancy in Pennsylvania – New Texas Serpentine Barrens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100716235344/http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/pennsylvania/preserves/art9593.html |date=July 16, 2010 }}. Nature.org (October 22, 2010; retrieved December 23, 2010.)</ref> and Rock Springs Nature Preserve, a publicly accessible preserve with hiking trails owned and managed by the [[Lancaster County Conservancy]].<ref>[http://lancasterconservancy.org/property_rocksprings.htm "Rock Springs Nature Preserve"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222203402/http://www.lancasterconservancy.org/property_rocksprings.htm |date=February 22, 2009}}, Lancaster County Conservancy Website, Retrieved May 10, 2009.</ref>

Lancaster County leads the nation in farmland preservation. Organizations such as the Lancaster Farmland Trust, the Lancaster County Agricultural Preservation Board, and multiple municipalities work in partnership with landowners to preserve their farms and way of life for future generations by placing a conservation easement on their property. A conservation easement restricts real estate development, commercial and industrial uses, and certain other activities on the land that are mutually agreed upon by the grantees and the property owner. After ceding their development rights, landowners continue to manage and own their properties and may receive significant tax breaks. The conservation easement ensures that the land will remain available for agricultural use forever. Lancaster Farmland Trust is a private, non-profit organization that works closely with the vast Amish and Plain-Sect communities of Lancaster County to ensure their farms will retain their agricultural value. Together with the Lancaster County Agricultural Preserve Board, the county has preserved more than {{convert|100000|acres|abbr=on}} of preserved farmland in the county—a first in the nation.<ref>[http://www.lancasterfarmlandtrust.org/about/history.html Lancaster Farmland Trust] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524050922/http://www.lancasterfarmlandtrust.org/about/history.html |date=May 24, 2013 }}. Lancaster Farmland Trust (November 13, 1985; retrieved July 23, 2013.)</ref>

===Seismicity===
Lancaster County lies on the general track of the [[Appalachian Mountains]]. As a result, residual seismic activity from ancient faulting occasionally produces minor earthquakes of magnitude 3 to 4. On December 27, 2008, a 3.3 magnitude earthquake was widely felt in the [[Susquehanna Valley]] but caused no damage to structures.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wgal.com/news/18365091/detail.html|title=Minor Earthquake Felt Throughout Susquehanna Valley – Pennsylvania News Story – WGAL The Susquehanna Valley|publisher=Wgal.com|date=December 27, 2008|access-date=July 22, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717045833/http://www.wgal.com/news/18365091/detail.html|archive-date=July 17, 2011}}</ref>

===Flora and fauna===
The [[bog turtle]] was first discovered and identified in Lancaster County by [[botanist]] [[Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg]], who discovered the turtle species while surveying the area's [[flora]]. The species was named Muhlenberg's tortoise in 1801, but renamed bog turtle, its present [[common name]], in 1956.<ref>{{cite news|first=Ad|last=Crable|title=Big threat to a little turtle|url=http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/241955|work=[[Intelligencer Journal]]|date=September 8, 2009|access-date=September 15, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130127102726/http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/241955|archive-date=January 27, 2013}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1790= 36081
|1800= 43403
|1810= 53927
|1820= 68336
|1830= 76631
|1840= 84203
|1850= 98944
|1860= 116314
|1870= 121340
|1880= 139447
|1890= 149095
|1900= 159241
|1910= 167029
|1920= 173797
|1930= 196882
|1940= 212504
|1950= 234717
|1960= 278359
|1970= 319693
|1980= 362346
|1990= 422822
|2000= 470658
|2010= 519445
|2020= 552984
|estimate=563293
|estyear=2024
|estref= 
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 8, 2015}}</ref><br>1790–1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=March 8, 2015}}</ref> 1900–1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/pa190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|editor-last=Forstall|editor-first=Richard L.|date=March 24, 1995|access-date=March 8, 2015}}</ref><br>1990–2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|date=April 2, 2001|access-date=March 8, 2015}}</ref> 2010–2019<ref name="QFb">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/42/42071.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 10, 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606185250/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/42/42071.html|archive-date=June 6, 2011}}</ref> 2020<ref name=new-census>[https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/2020-population-and-housing-state-data.html 2020 Population and Housing State Data | Pennsylvania]</ref> 2024<ref name="qf4" />
}}

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right;"
|-
! colspan=4|Lancaster County Demographics<ref name="qf">U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts for [https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/lancastercountypennsylvania,US/PST045222 Lancaster County]. Retrieved January 4, 2023.</ref>
|-
| style="width:120px; "|2013
| style="width:50px; "|'''County'''
| style="width:50px; "|'''State'''
| style="width:50px; "|'''U.S.'''
|-
| style="text-align:left"|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]]
| 91.0%
| 83.2%
| 77.7%
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[African American (U.S. census)|African American]]
| 4.7%
| 11.5%
| 13.2%
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
| 0.4%
| 0.3%
| 1.2%
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
| 2.1%
| 3.1%
| 5.3%
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
| 0.1%
| 0.1%
| 0.2%
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Two or more [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|races]]
| 1.8%
| 1.8%
| 2.4%
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]]/[[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race
| 9.5%
| 6.3%
| 17.1%
|-
|style="text-align:left"|White alone, not Hispanic or Latino
| 83.6%
| 78.4%
| 62.6%
|}
[[File:LancaGrowth.gif|thumb|A chart of the population growth as a percentage of the prior decennial census shows the growth rate of Lancaster County population (dark blue) lagged the growth rate of the U.S. population (magenta) until the second half of the 20th century.]]

As of the 2010 census,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=February 2, 2015|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> there were 519,445 people. The population density was {{convert|561|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people}}. There were 193,602 households. Of that number 135,401 (69.9%) were families. Of those families, 120,112 (88.7%) had children under the age of 18. There were 202,952 housing units at an average density of {{convert|215|/mi2|/km2}}. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18 and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.60 males.

5.58% of the population and 8.37% of the children aged 5–17 reported speaking [[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Pennsylvania Dutch]], German, or [[Dutch language|Dutch]] at home, while a further 4.97% of the population spoke Spanish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=42&county_id=71&mode=geographic&zip=&place_id=&cty_id=&ll=&a=&ea=&order=r|title=MLA Data Center|publisher=Mla.org|date=July 17, 2007|access-date=October 9, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522222853/http://www.mla.org/map_data_results%26state_id%3D42%26county_id%3D71%26mode%3Dgeographic%26zip%3D%26place_id%3D%26cty_id%3D%26ll%3D%26a%3D%26ea%3D%26order%3Dr|archive-date=May 22, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> 39.8% were of German, 11.8% United States or American, 7.2% Irish and 5.7% English ancestry.

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Lancaster County Racial Composition<ref>{{Cite web|title =P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=Lancaster%20County,%20Pennsylvania&t=Race%20and%20Ethnicity&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2}}</ref>
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (NH)
|440,613
|79.68%
|-
|[[African American (U.S. census)|Black or African American]] (NH)
|19,536
|3.53%
|-
|[[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]] (NH)
|522
|0.01%
|-
|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]] (NH)
|13,939
|2.52%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]] (NH)
|110
|0.02%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]] (NH)
|17,093
|3.1%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|61,171
|11.1%
|}

===Plain Anabaptist (Amish) groups===
Lancaster County Anabaptist community founded in c. 1760, has the world's largest [[Amish]] settlement, with 37,000 people in 220 church districts in 2017, or about 7% of the county's population.<ref name=update>[http://amishamerica.com/12-largest-amish-communities-2017/ The 12 Largest Amish Communities (2017).] at Amish America</ref> By 2021 the Amish population increased to almost 42,000.<ref name="Elizabethtown College, the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies-2021">{{Cite web |url=https://amishamerica.com/2021-amish-population/#maincontent |title=The Amish Population in 2021 |date=August 12, 2021 |website=Elizabethtown College, the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies |access-date=August 22, 2021 |archive-date=August 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812190707/https://amishamerica.com/2021-amish-population/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[http://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/files/2021/08/Amish-Pop-2021_by-state-and-county.pdf Amish Population in the United States by State and County, 2021]</ref> The [[Lancaster Amish affiliation]] is relatively liberal concerning the use of technologies compared to other Amish affiliations.

Historically speaking, the Amish population in 1970 numbered only about 7,000; that climbed to about 12,400 by 1990 and 16,900 by 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/amish-population-grows-by-a-year-despite-lancaster-county-s/article_e24c564e-678e-11e9-9ba4-bf1905bae642.html|access-date=May 7, 2019|title=Amish population grows by 1,000 a year, despite Lancaster County's urban sprawl, development|publisher=Lancaster Online}}</ref> It has doubled since then.

Lancaster also hosts other [[Plain dress|Plain]] [[Anabaptists|Anabaptist]] groups. As of 2000, there are about 3,000 [[Old Order Mennonite]]s of the [[Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church|Groffdale Conference]] who drive black top [[Amish buggy|buggies]] instead of the grey top buggies of the Amish in Lancaster County. Other buggy-using Old Order Mennonites in Lancaster County are subgroups of the [[Stauffer Mennonite]]s with 283 baptized members and the [[Reidenbach Old Order Mennonites|Reidenbach Mennonites]] with 232. There are about 4,000 members of the car-driving [[Weaverland Old Order Mennonite Conference]]. A congregation of 83 members of the [[Old Order River Brethren]] lives there as well as 84 members of the [[Reformed Mennonite|Reformed Mennonite Church]] who have retained the most conservative form of Plain dress of all Plain groups. There are 74 members of the [[Old German Baptist Brethren]] in Lancaster County.<ref>Donald B. Kraybill and Nelson Hostetter: ''Anabaptist World USA'', 2001, Scottdale, PA, and Waterloo, ON, pp. 272, 276.</ref>

<gallery mode=packed height=250>
Lancaster County Amish 03.jpg|An Amish family in a traditional [[Amish buggy]] in the county
Amish children in the back of a buggy on the road in Lancaster County, Pensylvania LCCN2011632697.tif|Amish children in the back of a buggy on the road
Amish farmer and his team of draft horses 16027v.jpg|Amish farmers use only horse power to cultivate their land
Amish dairy farms.jpg|Amish crops in the county
Amish dairy farm 3.jpg|An Amish dairy farm
Lancaster county (Amish as a proportion by township, among adults 18+).jpg|<small>Persons speaking an Indo-European language at home other than English or Spanish '''(among adults 18+)''', a vast majority of them speak Pennsylvania German. (ACS 2019 5-year estimate).</small>
</gallery>

===Religion===
* [[Protestant]]: 38% (of whom [[Evangelical Protestant]] 23.7%, [[Mainline Protestant]] 13.8%, [[Black Protestant]] 0.4%)
* [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]: 9.9%
* [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox Christian]]: 0.3%
* Other: 1.1%
* Unaffiliated: 50.9%

===Dialect===
Some County residents speak with a Pennsylvania Dutch-influenced dialect.<ref>[http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/dialectsofenglish.html Dialects of English]. Webspace.ship.edu. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> This is most common in the Lancaster, Lebanon, York, and Harrisburg areas, and incorporates influences from the [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] in dialect and in nomenclature.

===Metropolitan statistical area===
The [[United States Office of Management and Budget|U.S. Office of Management and Budget]] has designated Lancaster County as the '''Lancaster, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area'''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/bulletins/2013/b13-01.pdf|title=OMB Bulletin No. 13-01: Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas|date=February 28, 2013|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|work=[[Office of Management and Budget]]|access-date=March 20, 2013}}</ref> With a population of 552,984 as of the [[2020 United States census|2020 U.S. census]], the Lancaster, PA metropolitan area is [[Pennsylvania metropolitan areas|the sixth most populous metropolitan area in Pennsylvania]], after the [[Delaware Valley]], [[Greater Pittsburgh]], the [[Lehigh Valley]], the [[Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area]], and the [[Wyoming Valley]].

On a national level, the Lancaster, PA metropolitan area is the [[Metropolitan statistical area|104th most populous metropolitan statistical area]] as of the 2020 census and the [[Statistical area (United States)|102nd most populous primary statistical area]] in the United States as of the 2010 census.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/popest/data/metro/totals/2012/tables/CBSA-EST2012-01.csv|title=Table 1. Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012|format=[[comma-separated values|CSV]]|work=2012 Population Estimates|publisher=United States Census Bureau, Population Division|date=March 2013|access-date=March 20, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130401093220/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/metro/totals/2012/tables/CBSA-EST2012-01.csv|archive-date=April 1, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/popest/data/metro/totals/2012/tables/CBSA-EST2012-02.csv|title=Table 2. Annual Estimates of the Population of Combined Statistical Areas: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012 |format=[[comma-separated values|CSV]]|work=2012 Population Estimates|publisher=United States Census Bureau, Population Division|date=March 2013|access-date=March 20, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517083619/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/metro/totals/2012/tables/CBSA-EST2012-02.csv|archive-date=May 17, 2013}}</ref>

==Government and politics==
===Political party affiliation===
{{PresHead|place=Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|source1=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|first=David|last=Leip|website=uselectionatlas.org}}</ref>|source2=<ref>The leading "other" candidate, [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive]] [[Theodore Roosevelt]], received 12,031 votes, while Socialist candidate [[Eugene V. Debs|Eugene Debs]] received 687 votes, [[Prohibition Party|Prohibition]] candidate [[Eugene W. Chafin|Eugene Chafin]] received 310 votes, and [[Socialist Labor Party of America|Socialist Labor]] candidate [[Arthur Reimer]] received 12 votes.</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|166,261|120,119|4,292|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|160,209|115,847|5,319|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|137,914|91,093|15,825|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|130,669|88,481|4,201|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|126,568|99,586|3,095|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|145,591|74,328|1,453|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|115,900|54,968|4,499|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|92,875|49,120|13,291|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|88,447|44,255|27,478|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|96,979|38,982|1,068|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|99,090|31,308|618|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|79,963|30,026|8,908|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|72,106|35,533|2,037|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|81,036|24,223|1,879|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|69,953|29,870|8,484|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|52,243|53,041|224|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|78,390|33,233|266|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|69,026|26,538|237|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|64,193|28,146|382|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|46,306|21,308|885|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|44,888|27,353|432|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|44,939|32,210|269|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1936|Republican|42,272|38,454|1,547|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1932|Republican|34,502|24,406|2,111|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|55,530|12,146|516|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|42,787|12,091|3,156|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|29,549|9,521|1,472|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|20,292|10,016|1,688|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1912|Republican|12,668|8,574|13,040|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|23,523|8,109|1,299|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|26,083|7,092|902|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|23,230|8,437|701|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1896|Republican|24,337|8,145|1,008|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1892|Republican|20,126|10,326|770|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1888|Republican|21,976|10,495|545|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1884|Republican|19,848|9,953|340|Pennsylvania}}
{{PresRow|1880|Republican|19,489|10,789|120|Pennsylvania}}
|}
{{U.S. SenHead|place=Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Seat=1|source=<ref>{{cite news |title=2024 Senate Election (Official Returns) |website=Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by county |date=November 5, 2024 |access-date=December 5, 2024 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-elections/pennsylvania-senate-results}}</ref>}}
<!-- U.S. SenRow should be {{U.S. SenRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{U.S. SenRow|2024|Republican|162,105|118,580|7,668|Pennsylvania}}
{{U.S. SenFoot}}

Lancaster County was the home of the final pre-[[American Civil War]] U.S. President, James Buchanan, a Democrat.  Since the Civil War, however, Lancaster County has been a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] stronghold. The GOP controls the vast majority of county and municipal elected offices in Lancaster County.<ref name=lancnews>{{cite news|first=Dave|last=Pidgeon|title=Democrats celebrate registration gains:Numbers here top 100,000 for 1st time|url=http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/227869|work=Intelligencer Journal|date=September 26, 2008|access-date=October 17, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130127095412/http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/227869|archive-date=January 27, 2013}}</ref> Specifically, the row offices and all but one county commission seat are held by Republicans, and the GOP holds all but two state legislative seats covering the county. Republicans also hold a majority of registered voters in the county.{{cn|date=October 2025}}

In September 2008, the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] reached the benchmark of 100,000 registered voters for the first time in the county's history.<ref name=lancnews/><ref>{{cite news|title=Lancaster Dems Announce 100,000th Registration|url=http://www.solanconews.com/Gov/Articles/2008/080930_lancdems.htm|work=[[Solanco News]]|date=September 30, 2008|access-date=October 17, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150604061533/http://www.solanconews.com/Gov/Articles/2008/080930_lancdems.htm|archive-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref> The party had just 82,171 registered Democrats in 2004.<ref name=lancnews/> {{As of|2008}}, the ratio of Republicans to Democrats in Lancaster County now stands at 1.8 Republicans to 1 Democrat, down from a 3–1 advantage for the Republicans in the late 1990s.<ref name=lancnews/> Even with these gains, the county is still powerfully Republican downballot; the only real pockets of Democratic influence are in the city of Lancaster. Reflecting this, the only elected Democrats representing a significant portion of the county at the state or federal level hold state house seats anchored in Lancaster city and its closest-in suburbs.{{cn|date=October 2025}} Prior to a 2025 special election, Republicans had exclusively represented the county in the [[Pennsylvania Senate]] since 1889.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Levy |first=Marc |last2=Scolforo |first2=Mark |date=March 26, 2025 |title=Democrat James Andrew Malone scores an upset win in a Pennsylvania Senate special election |url=https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania-politics/democrat-james-andrew-malone-scores-an-upset-win-in-a-pennsylvania-senate-special-election/ |website=abc27}}</ref>

Lancaster County has only ever voted for a Democratic presidential nominee once since [[James Buchanan]] in 1856, a resident of the city of Lancaster.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geoelections.free.fr/USA/elec_comtes/1856.htm|title=Presidential election of 1856 – Map by counties|website=geoelections.free.fr}}</ref> In 1964, [[Lyndon Johnson]] carried Lancaster County as part of his 44-state landslide, winning by 798 votes, less than a single percentage point. [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] failed to carry the county during any of his four successful runs for president, coming within 4,000 votes of carrying it in his 46-state landslide of 1936. In 2008, [[Barack Obama]] became the first Democrat to garner 40 percent of the county's vote since Johnson, and the second since Franklin D. Roosevelt. [[Donald Trump]] earned 56 percent of the vote in both campaigns, with [[Joe Biden]] becoming the third Democrat in 80 years to win 40 percent of the county's vote.

According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans hold a majority of the voters in Lancaster County.
{| class=wikitable
! colspan = 6 | Lancaster County Voter Registration Statistics as of May 19, 2025<ref name="Voter Registration">{{cite web |url=https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dos/resources/voting-and-elections-resources/voting-and-election-statistics.html |format=XLS |title=May 19, 2025 Voter Registration Statistics |access-date=May 19, 2025 |author=Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of State }}</ref>
|-
! colspan = 2 | Political Party
! Total Voters
! Percentage
|-
| {{party color cell|Republican Party (United States)}}
| [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| align = center | 183,683
| align = center | 51.50%
|-
| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (United States)}} 
| [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| align = center | 110,318
| align = center | 30.93%
|-
| {{party color cell|Independent Party (United States)}}
| No party affiliation
| align = center | 46,381
| align = center | 13.00%
|-
| {{party color cell|Other party (United States)}}
| Minor parties 
| align = center | 16,284
| align = center | 4.57%
|-
! colspan = 2 | Total
! align = center | 356,666
! align = center | 100.00%
|}

===Elected officials===
===United States Senate===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Senator !! Party
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[David McCormick]] || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[John Fetterman]] || [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|}

===United States House of Representatives===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! District !! Representative !! Party
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district|11]] || [[Lloyd Smucker]] || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|}

===Pennsylvania State Senate===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! District<ref name=statesen>[http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/senators_alpha.cfm The Pennsylvania Senate – Senators Listed Alphabetically]. Legis.state.pa.us. Retrieved February 19, 2015.</ref>!! Representative !! Party
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[Pennsylvania Senate, District 13|13]] || [[Scott Martin (Pennsylvania politician)|Scott Martin]] || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Pennsylvania Senate, District 36|36]] || [[James Andrew Malone]] || [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|}

===State House of Representatives===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Representative !! Party !! District
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[Mindy Fee]] || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] || [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 37|Pennsylvania's 37th Representative District]]
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[Brett Miller]] || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] || [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 41|Pennsylvania's 41st Representative District]]
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[Keith Greiner]] || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] || [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 43|Pennsylvania's 43rd Representative District]]
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Ismail Smith-Wade-El]] || [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] || [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 49|Pennsylvania's 49th Representative District]]
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| [[Nikki Rivera]] || [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] || [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 96|Pennsylvania's 96th Representative District]]
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[Steven Mentzer]] || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] || [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 97|Pennsylvania's 97th Representative District]]
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[Tom Jones (Pennsylvania politician)|Tom Jones]] || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] || [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 98|Pennsylvania's 98th Representative District]]
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[David Zimmerman (politician)|David Zimmerman]] || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] || [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 99|Pennsylvania's 99th Representative District]]
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| [[Bryan Cutler]] || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] || [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 100|Pennsylvania's 100th Representative District]]
|}

===Commissioners===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Office<ref>[http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/131/Commissioners-Office] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112181308/http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/131/Commissioners-Office|date=January 12, 2016}} Co.lancaster.pa.us. Retrieved March 25, 2022.</ref>!! Holder !! Party
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| Chairman|| Joshua Parsons || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| Vice-chairman || Ray D'Agostino || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|- {{Party shading/Democratic}}
| County Commissioner || Alice Yoder || [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|}

===Row officers===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Office !! Holder !! Party
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| Clerk of Courts || Nicky Woods || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] 
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| Controller || Lisa Colon || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] 
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| Coroner || Dr. Stephen Diamantoni, M.D. || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] 
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| District Attorney || Heather Adams, Esq. || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] 
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| Prothonotary || Andrew Spade || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] 
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| Recorder of Deeds || Ann Hess || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] 
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| Register of Wills || Ann Cooper || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] 
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| Sheriff || Chris Leppler<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lancasteronline.com/news/politics/republican-chris-leppler-wins-election-to-replace-former-lancaster-county/article_2087771c-c421-11e7-92fc-436a2bf1fe14.html|title=Republican Chris Leppler wins election to replace former Lancaster County Sheriff Mark Reese|date=November 7, 2017 }}</ref> || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] 
|- {{Party shading/Republican}}
| Treasurer|| Amber Green || [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] 
|}
Sources:<ref>[http://www.lancasterpaclerkofcourts.com/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221070818/http://www.lancasterpaclerkofcourts.com/|date=February 21, 2016}}. Retrieved January 10, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/132/Controllers-Office] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206162117/http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/132/Controllers-Office|date=February 6, 2016}} Co.lancaster.pa.us. Retrieved January 10, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/133/Coroner] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117144054/http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/133/Coroner|date=January 17, 2016}} Co.lancaster.pa.us. Retrieved January 10, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/138/District-Attorney] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160122002059/http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/138/District-Attorney|date=January 22, 2016}} Co.lancaster.pa.us. Retrieved January 10, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/155/Prothonotary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112183341/http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/155/Prothonotary|date=January 12, 2016}} Co.lancaster.pa.us. Retrieved January 10, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://www.lancasterdeeds.com/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110143711/http://lancasterdeeds.com/|date=January 10, 2016}}. Retrieved January 10, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/159/Register-of-Wills] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112095130/http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/159/Register-of-Wills|date=January 12, 2016}} Co.lancaster.pa.us. Retrieved January 10, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/160/Sheriffs-Office] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126012507/http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/160/Sheriffs-Office|date=January 26, 2016}} Co.lancaster.pa.us. Retrieved January 10, 2016.</ref><ref>[http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/162/Treasurer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102021103/http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/162/Treasurer|date=January 2, 2016}} Co.lancaster.pa.us. Retrieved January 10, 2016.</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:Lancaster County Field and Farm Implement 3264px.jpg|thumb|A Lancaster County farm with a [[Horse-drawn vehicle#Agricultural|horse-drawn farm implement]] near a corn field]]
[[File:Hordeum vulgare in Lancaster, PA-001.jpg|thumb|A field of wheat in the county]]
In 2021, the county had a [[Per capita personal income in the United States|per capita personal income]] (PCPI) of $61,547, 96% of the national average. This reflects a growth of 5.7% from the prior year, versus a 7.3% growth for the nation as a whole.<ref>{{cite web |date=November 16, 2022 |title=Economic Profile for Lancaster |url=https://apps.bea.gov/regional/bearfacts/?f=42071&a=4 |access-date=January 4, 2023 |website=Bureau of Economic Analysis BEARFACTS}}</ref> The county poverty rate was 8.8% compared to a national rate of 11.6%.<ref name=qf/>

In 2005, Lancaster County was 10th of all counties in Pennsylvania with 17.7% of its workforce employed in manufacturing; the state averages 13.7%, and the leader, [[Crawford County, Pennsylvania|Crawford County]], has only 25.1%.<ref>{{cite web|author=American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_GCT2404_ST2&-CONTEXT=gct&-tree_id=305&-redoLog=true&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=ST-2&-_lang=en|title=GCT2404. Percent of Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and Over in the Manufacturing Industry: 2005|publisher=Factfinder.census.gov|access-date=October 9, 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212034653/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_GCT2404_ST2&-CONTEXT=gct&-tree_id=305&-redoLog=true&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=ST-2&-_lang=en|archive-date=February 12, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Lancaster County lags in information workers. It ranks 31st in the state with 1.3% of the workforce; the state as a whole employs 2.1% in information technology.<ref>{{cite web|author=American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-CONTEXT=gct&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_GCT2405_ST2&-tree_id=305&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=ST-2&-_lang=en|title=GCT2405. Percent of Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and Over in the Information Industry: 2005|publisher=Factfinder.census.gov|access-date=October 9, 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212043517/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-CONTEXT=gct&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_GCT2405_ST2&-tree_id=305&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=ST-2&-_lang=en|archive-date=February 12, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The county ranks 11th in the state in managerial and financial workers, despite having 12.5% of the workforce in those occupations (versus the state average of 12.8%). The state leaders are [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester County]] with 20.5% and [[Montgomery County, Pennsylvania|Montgomery County]] with 18.5%.<ref>{{cite web|author=American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-CONTEXT=gct&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_GCT2401_ST2&-tree_id=305&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=ST-2&-_lang=en|title=GCT2401. Percent of Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and Over in Management, Business, and Financial Occupations: 2005|publisher=Factfinder.census.gov|access-date=October 9, 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212033624/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-CONTEXT=gct&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_GCT2401_ST2&-tree_id=305&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=ST-2&-_lang=en|archive-date=February 12, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref>

With 17.3% working in the professions, Lancaster County is 31st in Pennsylvania,
compared to a state average of 21.5%. [[Centre County, Pennsylvania|Centre County]] leads with 31.8%, undoubtedly due to [[Pennsylvania State University|Penn State]]'s giant footprint in an otherwise rural county, but the upscale Philadelphia suburbs of Montgomery County give them 27.2%.<ref>{{cite web|author=American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-CONTEXT=gct&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_GCT2402_ST2&-tree_id=305&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=ST-2&-_lang=en|title=GCT2402. Percent of Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and Over in Professional and Related Occupations: 2005|publisher=Factfinder.census.gov|access-date=October 9, 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212035108/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-CONTEXT=gct&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_GCT2402_ST2&-tree_id=305&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=ST-2&-_lang=en|archive-date=February 12, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Lancaster County ranks even lower, 34th, in service workers, with 13.3% of the workforce, compared to a state average of 15.8%. [[Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia County]], leads with 20.5%.<ref>{{cite web|author=American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-CONTEXT=gct&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_GCT2403_ST2&-tree_id=305&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=ST-2&-_lang=en|title=GCT2403. Percent of Civilian Employed Population 16 Years and Over in Service Occupations: 2005|publisher=Factfinder.census.gov|access-date=October 9, 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212040337/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-context=gct&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-CONTEXT=gct&-mt_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_GCT2403_ST2&-tree_id=305&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=ST-2&-_lang=en|archive-date=February 12, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Lancaster County has an unemployment rate of 7.8% as of August 2010. This is a rise from a rate of 7.6% the previous year.<ref>[http://www.bls.gov/ro3/palaus.htm Unemployment Rates by County in Pennsylvania]. Bls.gov (December 10, 2010; retrieved December 23, 2010.)</ref>

There are 11,000 companies in Lancaster County.<ref>[http://www.edclancaster.com/demo_employment.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115184625/http://www.edclancaster.com/demo_employment.htm|date=January 15, 2008}}</ref> The county's largest manufacturing and distributing employers at the end of 2003 were [[Acme Markets]], Alumax Mill Products, Anvil International, [[Armstrong World Industries]], [[Kangol|Bollman Hat]], [[CNH Global]], [[Conestoga Wood Specialties]], [[Dart Container]], High Industries, [[Lancaster Laboratories]], [[Pepperidge Farm]], [[RR Donnelley|R R Donnelley & Sons]], [[The Hershey Company]], [[Tyco Electronics]], [[Tyson Foods]], [[Warner-Lambert]], and [[Yellow Transportation]].<ref>[http://www.edclancaster.com/images/Topemployers.pdf Economic Development Corporation: Top Employers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002024557/http://www.edclancaster.com/images/Topemployers.pdf|date=October 2, 2008}}</ref>

[[Auntie Anne's]], [[Clipper Magazine]], [[Lancaster Farming]], [[MapQuest]], [[Turkey Hill Dairy]], [[Clair Global]], and [[Wilbur Chocolate Company]] are Lancaster County-based organizations with an economic footprint of regional or national significance.

[[Herley Industries]] is a local producer of microwave and millimeter wave products for the defense and aerospace industries.

===Agriculture===
With some of the most fertile non-irrigated soil in the U.S., Lancaster County has a strong farming industry.<ref>[http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/watermgt/wc/subjects/wsnotebks/WRAS-07J.htm Watershed Restoration Action Strategy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106070021/http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/watermgt/wc/subjects/wsnotebks/WRAS-07J.htm |date=November 6, 2007 }}. Dep.state.pa.us. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lanco/lib/lanco/revprogguidelines_finalfinal_(2).pdf|title=Agricultural Preserve Board|access-date=October 9, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608152637/http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lanco/lib/lanco/revprogguidelines_finalfinal_(2).pdf|archive-date=June 8, 2011}}</ref> Lancaster County's 5293 farms, generating $800&nbsp;million in food, feed and fiber, are responsible for nearly a fifth of the state's agricultural output.<ref name=nass>[http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census02/profiles/pa/cp42071.PDF#search=%22census%20of%20agriculture%20lancaster%20county%20pa%22 2002 NASS Agricultural Census] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413185623/http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census02/profiles/pa/cp42071.PDF#search=%22census%20of%20agriculture%20lancaster%20county%20pa%22|date=April 13, 2008}}</ref> Chester County, with its high-value mushroom farms, is second, with $375&nbsp;million.<ref>[http://www.ers.usda.gov/StateFacts/PA.htm Pennsylvania Fact Sheet: PA agriculture income population food education employment unemployment federal funds farms top commodities exports counties financial indicators poverty farm income Rural Nonmetro Urban Metropolitan America USDA organic Census of Agriculture] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060831055755/http://www.ers.usda.gov/StateFacts/PA.htm |date=August 31, 2006 }}. Ers.usda.gov (December 16, 2010; retrieved December 23, 2010.)</ref>

Livestock-raising is responsible for $710&nbsp;million of that $800&nbsp;million, with dairy accounting for $266&nbsp;million, [[chicken|poultry]] and [[egg (food)|egg]]s accounting for $258&nbsp;million. [[Beef|Cattle]] and [[pig|swine]] each accounts for about $90&nbsp;million.<ref name=nass/>

Agriculture is likely to remain an important part of Lancaster County: almost exactly half of Lancaster County's land – {{convert|320000|acre|ha}} – is zoned for agriculture, and of those, {{convert|276000|acre}} are "effective agricultural zoning", requiring at least {{convert|20|acre|ha}} per residence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lanco/lib/lanco/revprogguidelines_finalfinal_(2).pdf|title=Program Guidelines|access-date=October 9, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608152637/http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lanco/lib/lanco/revprogguidelines_finalfinal_(2).pdf|archive-date=June 8, 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Amish dairy farms 2.jpg|700px|center|thumb|[[Amish]] dairy farms in Lancaster County]]

===Tourism===
[[File:Lancaster Central Market.JPG|thumb|[[Central Market (Lancaster)|Central Market]] in [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]], a popular tourist attraction]]
[[File:2015 Birds In Hand Balloons 02 image FRD.jpg|thumb|A hot air balloon ride in Lancaster County]]
[[File:Jackson's Sawmill Covered Bridge Three Quarters View 3264px.jpg|thumb|One of the county's [[List of Lancaster County covered bridges|29 covered bridges]]]]
Tourism is a significant industry in Lancaster County, employing approximately 20,000. In the 1860s, articles in the ''[[Atlantic Monthly]]'' and ''Lippincott's Magazine'' published right after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], introduced Lancaster County to many readers. However, tourism in Lancaster was nearly non-existent prior to 1955.

A ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' travel article in 1952 brought 25,000 visitors, but the 1955 [[Broadway musical]] [[Plain and Fancy]] helped to fan the flames of Amish tourism in the mid-1950s. Shortly thereafter, Adolph Neuber (then-owner of the Willows Restaurant) opened the first tourist attraction in Lancaster County showcasing the Amish culture. Lancaster County tourism tapered off, after the [[1973 oil crisis|1974 gas rationing]] and the [[Three Mile Island accident|Three Mile Island]] incident led to five years of stagnation.<ref name=andback>{{cite web |author=James Buescher |title=Lancaster New Era (Lancaster, Pa.) |date=September 5, 2005 |url=http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/Press_Releases/Paradise_back.doc |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060327093059/http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/Press_Releases/Paradise_back.doc |archive-date=March 27, 2006}}</ref>

Local tourism officials viewed it as [[deus ex machina]] when Hollywood stepped in to rescue their industry. [[Harrison Ford]], in the 1985 movie ''[[Witness (1985 film)|Witness]]'', portrayed a Philadelphia detective who journeys to the Amish community to protect an Amish boy who has witnessed a murder in Philadelphia. The detective is attracted to the boy's widowed mother; the movie is less a thriller than a romance about the difficulties faced by an outsider in love with a widow from The Community.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090329/|title=Witness|date=February 8, 1985|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> The film was nominated for eight Oscars, and won two.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090329/awards|title=Witness|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> However, the real winner was Lancaster County tourism.

Once again, especially after the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]], tourism in Lancaster County has shifted. Instead of families arriving for a three- to four-day stay for a general visit, now tourists arrive for a specific event, whether it be the rhubarb festival, the "maize maze", to see [[Thomas the Tank Engine]], for [[Sertoma International|Sertoma]]'s annual "World's Largest Chicken Barbecue" or for the latest show at [[Sight & Sound Theatres]].<ref name=andback/> The tourism industry is discouraged by this change, but not despondent:

{{blockquote|In four years of working here on the Strasburg Rail Road, I've only had one complaint, she said that the ride is too short. People love Lancaster County. They'll keep coming back.|Betty McCormack<ref name=andback/>}}

The county promotes tourist visits to the county's numerous historic and picturesque [[covered bridge]]s by publishing driving tours of the bridges.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Covered Bridges of Lancaster County|work=Lancaster County, PA Government Portal|date=December 10, 2001|url=http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lanco/cwp/view.asp?a=15&q=257148&lancoNav=%7C5722%7C5789|access-date=September 26, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608124922/http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lanco/cwp/view.asp?a=15&q=257148&lancoNav=%7C5722%7C5789|archive-date=June 8, 2011}}</ref> With over 200 bridges still in existence, Pennsylvania has more covered bridges than anywhere else in the world, and at [[List of Lancaster County covered bridges|29 covered bridges]], Lancaster County has the largest share.<ref>{{cite web|title=Covered Bridges|work=Pennsylvania Dutch Country Welcome Center|publisher=Action Video, Inc.|year=2005|url=http://www.padutch.com/covbrdg.shtml|access-date=September 26, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060928175121/http://padutch.com/covbrdg.shtml|archive-date=September 28, 2006}}</ref>

The Lancaster County Convention Center Authority [https://web.archive.org/web/20060823065043/http://www.lccca.com/] constructed the $170&nbsp;million<ref>[http://www.lancasterfirst.org/FinancingPlan_121306.pdf Working together for the future of Lancaster] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614004733/http://www.lancasterfirst.org/FinancingPlan_121306.pdf |date=June 14, 2007 }}. Lancaster First. Retrieved December 23, 2010.</ref> [[Lancaster County Convention Center]] in downtown Lancaster on the site of the former [[Watt & Shand]] building.<ref>{{cite web|author=Lancaster County IT and Budget Services|url=http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lanco/cwp/view.asp?A=15&Q=559590|title=Lancaster County Website|publisher=Co.lancaster.pa.us|access-date=July 22, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620100825/http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us/lanco/cwp/view.asp?A=15&Q=559590|archive-date=June 20, 2010}}</ref>

Other tourist attractions include the American Music Theatre, [[Dutch Wonderland]], [[Ephrata Cloister]], [[Ephrata Fair]], [[Hans Herr|Hans Herr House]], [[Landis Valley Museum]], [[Pennsylvania Dutch Country]], [[Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire]] (one of the largest [[Renaissance fair]]s in the world<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hexpdOj8t80C&q=%22Pennsylvania%20Renaissance%20Faire%22%20-inpublisher%3Aicon&pg=PA120|title=Consuming History|last=De Groot|first=Jerome|year=2008|publisher=Taylor & Francis|page=120|isbn=978-0-415-39945-6}}</ref>), [[Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania]], [[Rock Ford plantation]], [[Robert Fulton|Robert Fulton Birthplace]], Sight & Sound Theatres, [[Strasburg Rail Road|Strasburg Railroad]], [[Wilbur Chocolate]], [[Wheatland (James Buchanan House)]] and [[Sturgis Pretzel House]]. There are many tours of this historic area including the Downtown Lancaster Walking Tour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.padutchcountry.com/member_pages/Historic_Lancaster_Walking_Tour.asp|title=Historic Lancaster Walking Tour &#124; Pennsylvania Dutch Country Activities &#124; Lancaster, PA|publisher=Padutchcountry.com|access-date=July 22, 2010|archive-date=January 1, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100101034454/http://padutchcountry.com/member_pages/Historic_Lancaster_Walking_Tour.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Education==
Lancaster County's colleges include [[Eastern Mennonite University]], [[Elizabethtown College]], [[Franklin & Marshall College]], [[Harrisburg Area Community College]], [[Lancaster Bible College]], [[Lancaster Theological Seminary]], [[Millersville University of Pennsylvania]], [[Pennsylvania College of Art and Design]], [[Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology]], and [[PA College of Health Sciences]].
[[File:Map of Lancaster County Pennsylvania School Districts.png|thumb|A map of Lancaster County public school districts]]

There are 16 public school districts in the county:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st42_pa/schooldistrict_maps/c42071_lancaster/DC20SD_C42071.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Berks County, PA|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|accessdate=July 20, 2022}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st42_pa/schooldistrict_maps/c42071_lancaster/DC20SD_C42071_SD2MS.txt Text list]</ref>

{{col div|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Cocalico School District|Cocalico]]
* [[Columbia Borough School District|Columbia Borough]]
* [[Conestoga Valley School District|Conestoga Valley]]
* [[Conrad Weiser Area School District|Conrad Weiser Area]]
* [[Donegal School District|Donegal]]
* [[Eastern Lancaster County School District|Eastern Lancaster County]]
* [[Elizabethtown Area School District|Elizabethtown Area]]
* [[Ephrata Area School District|Ephrata Area]]
* [[Hempfield School District|Hempfield]]
* [[Lampeter-Strasburg School District|Lampeter-Strasburg]]
* [[School District of Lancaster|Lancaster]]
* [[Manheim Central School District|Manheim Central]]
* [[Manheim Township School District|Manheim Township]]
* [[Octorara Area School District|Octorara Area]]
* [[Penn Manor School District|Penn Manor]]
* [[Pequea Valley School District|Pequea Valley]]
* [[Solanco School District|Solanco]]
* [[Warwick School District|Warwick]].
{{col div end}}

There is also one charter school, the La Academia Charter School. [[Lancaster Country Day School]], an independent day school, is located on the west end of Lancaster City. [[Linden Hall (school)|Linden Hall]], an independent boarding and day school for girls, is located in Lititz.

Lancaster County has a federated library system with 14 member libraries, three branches and a bookmobile. The [[Library System of Lancaster County]] was established in April 1987 to provide countywide services and cooperative programs for its member libraries. The Board of Lancaster County Commissioners appoints the Library System of Lancaster County's seven-member board of directors. The System is an agent of the Commonwealth.

==Sports==
{{main|Sports in South Central Pennsylvania}}
Before the Barnstormers, Lancaster was the home of the [[Lancaster Red Roses]], which played from 1906 to about 1930, and from 1932 to 1961.<ref>[http://www.lancasterhistory.org/collections/exhibitions/Baseball/baseball5.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204191701/http://www.lancasterhistory.org/collections/exhibitions/Baseball/baseball5.htm|date=February 4, 2012}}</ref> In 2005 the Lancaster Barnstormers joined the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The Barnstormers are named after the "[[Barnstorm (sports)|barnstorming]]" players who played exhibition games in the county. Their official colors are red, navy blue, and khaki, the same as those of the Red Roses. This franchise won their first league championship in their second season, in 2006. They won their second league championship in 2014. They have revived the old baseball rivalry between Lancaster and nearby [[York, Pennsylvania|York]], called the War of the Roses, when the [[York Revolution]] started their inaugural season in 2007.<ref>[http://www.yorkrevolution.com/news.cfm?newsID=457 York, PA Baseball] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715194120/http://www.yorkrevolution.com/news.cfm?newsID=457 |date=July 15, 2010 }}. York Revolution (August 28, 2007; retrieved December 23, 2010.)</ref>

The Women's Premier Soccer League expanded to Lancaster for the 2008 season, with the Lancaster Inferno. The WPSL is a FIFA-recognized women's league. The Inferno is owned by the Pennsylvania Classics organization and play their home games at the Hempfield High School stadium in [[Salunga-Landisville, Pennsylvania|Landisville]]. The Inferno's colors are orange, black, and white.

===Amateur teams===
In 2004, the amateur Lancaster Lightning [[American football|football]] team of the North American Football League played at [[Pequea Valley School District|Pequea Valley High School's]] football stadium in Kinzers.<ref>[http://www.lancasterlightning.com/ Lancaster Lightning] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004192557/http://www.lancasterlightning.com/ |date=October 4, 2006 }}. Retrieved September 30, 2006.</ref>

Lancaster is home to the [[Dutchland Derby Rollers]] (DDR), a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA.) Founded in 2006, The Dutchland Rollers have two travel teams, the All-Stars and the Blitz. Both rosters play teams from neighboring leagues, though it is the Dutchland All-Stars that compete for national ranking. Their home rink is Overlook Activities Center, and their colors are orange and black.

===Former teams===
From 1946 to 1980, a professional basketball team, as the [[Lancaster Red Roses (basketball)|Lancaster Red Roses]], (as well as the Lancaster Rockets and the Lancaster Lightning) played in the [[Continental Basketball Association]].<ref>[http://www.cbamuseum.com/teams/lancroses.html Lancaster Red Roses Basketball] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060430110228/http://www.cbamuseum.com/teams/lancroses.html|date=April 30, 2006}}. Retrieved October 1, 2006.</ref>

==Transportation==
{{main|Transportation in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania}}
Lying on the natural route from Philadelphia to the western part of Pennsylvania, Lancaster County has given rise to many improvements in transportation, such as the [[Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike]], later part of the [[Lincoln Highway]], in 1794,<ref>{{cite web|title=The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike Road|work=DOT Federal Highway Administration|url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/rakeman/1795.htm|access-date=May 29, 2006}}</ref> a canal in 1820, and the [[Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad]] in 1834.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prrths.com/PRR_hagley_intro.htm|title=A General Chronology of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company Predecessors and Successors and its Historical Context|last=Baer|first=Christopher T.|access-date=September 17, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060907213349/http://www.prrths.com/PRR_hagley_intro.htm|archive-date=September 7, 2006}}</ref>

===Major roads and highways===
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
* {{jct|state=PA|I|76|PATP}}
* {{jct|state=PA|US|30}}
* {{jct|state=PA|US|222}}
* {{jct|state=PA|US|322}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|10}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|23}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|41}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|72}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|230}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|241}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|272}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|283}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|324}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|340}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|372}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|441}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|462}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|472}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|501}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|625}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|722}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|741}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|743}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|772}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|896}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|897}}
* {{jct|state=PA|PA|999}}
}}

===Current railroads===
[[File:Lancaster Amtrak station, Sept 2012.jpg|thumb|[[Lancaster station (Pennsylvania)|Lancaster Train Station]], located on the ''[[Keystone Corridor]]'', the second-busiest [[Amtrak]] station in Pennsylvania after [[30th Street Station]] in [[Philadelphia]]]]
Passenger service in Lancaster County is provided by [[Amtrak]], whose ''[[Keystone Corridor]]'' passes through the county, with stops at [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]], [[Mount Joy, Pennsylvania|Mount Joy]] and [[Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania|Elizabethtown]].

The principal freight operator in the county is [[Norfolk Southern Railway]] (NS).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110518194140/http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/ReadingRoom.nsf/0/f9b55306775a274585256dd5005c01b6?OpenDocument Petition for Supplemental Order] - detailing the absorption of Pennsylvania Lines, LLC by Norfolk Southern</ref> The NS main line follows the Susquehanna River (with [[trackage rights]] for [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] (CPR)), and leaves the county by crossing the river on [[Shocks Mills Bridge]] near [[Marietta, Pennsylvania|Marietta]]. NS also has trackage rights over the Keystone Corridor, to which it is connected by the ''Royalton Branch'', which runs north along the river from the main line at Marietta, and the ''Columbia Branch'', which runs from the Corridor at [[Dillerville, Pennsylvania|Dillerville]] to the main line at [[Columbia, Pennsylvania|Columbia]]. Two other NS branches originate on the Corridor: the ''Lititz Secondary'', which runs from Dillerville to [[Manheim, Pennsylvania|Manheim]] and ends at [[Lititz, Pennsylvania|Lititz]], and the ''New Holland Industrial'', which leaves the Corridor around the east end of Lancaster to run east to [[New Holland, Pennsylvania|New Holland]] and ends at [[East Earl, Pennsylvania|East Earl]].

Several short lines also operate in the county. The [[Strasburg Rail Road]] operates passenger excursion trains, along with local freight which interchanges with NS in Paradise. The [[East Penn Railroad]] (ESPN) operates on a spur off the NS branch to Manheim, and on a longer line in the northeast corner of Lancaster County into Berks County. Landisville Terminal and Transfer Company (LNTV) operates on a spur off the Amtrak line at Landisville. The [[Tyburn Railroad]] operates some trackage around Dillerville. The Columbia and Reading Railway (CORY) began operating on {{convert|2.5|mi|km}} of track in Columbia in January 2010.<ref>{{Cite FTP |url=ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/MAPS/Statewide/parail.PDF|server=FTP server|url-status=dead|title=Pennsylvania Department of Transportation 2010 Railroad Map of Pennsylvania (shows owners and operators)|access-date=May 3, 2010}}</ref>

===Airport===
There are two public airports in Lancaster County. [[Lancaster Airport (Pennsylvania)|Lancaster Airport]] has scheduled passenger service, and [[Smoketown Airport]] serves [[general aviation]] users.

==Communities==
[[File:Map of Lancaster County Pennsylvania With Municipal and Township Labels.png|right|thumb|Lancaster County: cities and boroughs (red), townships (white), and census-designated places (blue)]]
The following [[List of cities in Pennsylvania|cities]], [[List of towns and boroughs in Pennsylvania|boroughs]], and [[List of townships in Pennsylvania|townships]] are located in Lancaster County:

===City===
* [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]] ([[county seat]])

===Boroughs===
[[Christiana, Pennsylvania|Christiana]] is the least populated borough in Lancaster County, {{As of|2010|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite news|first=Paula|last=Wolf|title=Terre Hill tops early Census returns|url=http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/250448|work=Intelligencer Journal|date=March 28, 2010|access-date=April 7, 2010|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103200659/http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/250448|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 3, 2013}}</ref> [[Columbia, Pennsylvania|Columbia]] is the most populous.

{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
* [[Adamstown, Pennsylvania|Adamstown]] (Partly in [[Berks County, Pennsylvania|Berks County]])
* [[Akron, Pennsylvania|Akron]]
* [[Christiana, Pennsylvania|Christiana]]
* [[Columbia, Pennsylvania|Columbia]]
* [[Denver, Pennsylvania|Denver]]
* [[East Petersburg, Pennsylvania|East Petersburg]]
* [[Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania|Elizabethtown]]
* [[Ephrata, Pennsylvania|Ephrata]]
* [[Lititz, Pennsylvania|Lititz]]
* [[Manheim, Pennsylvania|Manheim]]
* [[Marietta, Pennsylvania|Marietta]]
* [[Millersville, Pennsylvania|Millersville]]
* [[Mount Joy, Pennsylvania|Mount Joy]]
* [[Mountville, Pennsylvania|Mountville]]
* [[New Holland, Pennsylvania|New Holland]]
* [[Quarryville, Pennsylvania|Quarryville]]
* [[Strasburg, Pennsylvania|Strasburg]]
* [[Terre Hill, Pennsylvania|Terre Hill]]
{{div col end}}

===Townships===
{{div col|colwidth=12em}}
* [[Bart Township, Pennsylvania|Bart]]
* [[Brecknock Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Brecknock]]
* [[Caernarvon Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Caernarvon]]
* [[Clay Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Clay]]
* [[Colerain Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Colerain]]
* [[Conestoga Township, Pennsylvania|Conestoga]]
* [[Conoy Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Conoy]]
* [[Drumore Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Drumore]]
* [[Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Earl]]
* [[East Cocalico Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|East Cocalico]]
* [[East Donegal Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|East Donegal]]
* [[East Drumore Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|East Drumore]]
* [[East Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|East Earl]]
* [[East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|East Hempfield]]
* [[East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|East Lampeter]]
* [[Eden Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Eden]]
* [[Elizabeth Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Elizabeth]]
* [[Ephrata Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Ephrata]]
* [[Fulton Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Fulton]]
* [[Lancaster Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]]
* [[Leacock Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Leacock]]
* [[Little Britain Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Little Britain]]
* [[Manheim Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Manheim]]
* [[Manor Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Manor]]
* [[Martic Township, Pennsylvania|Martic]]
* [[Mount Joy Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Mount Joy]]
* [[Paradise Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Paradise]]
* [[Penn Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Penn]]
* [[Pequea Township, Pennsylvania|Pequea]]
* [[Providence Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Providence]]
* [[Rapho Township, Pennsylvania|Rapho]]
* [[Sadsbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Sadsbury]]
* [[Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Salisbury]]
* [[Strasburg Township, Pennsylvania|Strasburg]]
* [[Upper Leacock Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Upper Leacock]]
* [[Warwick Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Warwick]]
* [[West Cocalico Township, Pennsylvania|West Cocalico]]
* [[West Donegal Township, Pennsylvania|West Donegal]]
* [[West Earl Township, Pennsylvania|West Earl]]
* [[West Hempfield Township, Pennsylvania|West Hempfield]]
* [[West Lampeter Township, Pennsylvania|West Lampeter]]
{{div col end}}

===Census-designated places===
[[Census-designated place]]s are geographical areas designated by the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]] for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law.

{{div col|colwidth=12em}}
* [[Bainbridge, Pennsylvania|Bainbridge]]
* [[Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania|Bird-in-Hand]]
* [[Blue Ball, Pennsylvania|Blue Ball]]
* [[Bowmansville, Pennsylvania|Bowmansville]]
* [[Brickerville, Pennsylvania|Brickerville]]
* [[Brownstown, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Brownstown]]
* [[Churchtown, Pennsylvania|Churchtown]]
* [[Clay, Pennsylvania|Clay]]
* [[Conestoga, Pennsylvania|Conestoga]]
* [[East Earl, Pennsylvania|East Earl]]
* [[Falmouth, Pennsylvania|Falmouth]]
* [[Farmersville, Pennsylvania|Farmersville]]
* [[Fivepointville, Pennsylvania|Fivepointville]]
* [[Gap, Pennsylvania|Gap]]
* [[Georgetown, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Georgetown]]
* [[Goodville, Pennsylvania|Goodville]]
* [[Gordonville, Pennsylvania|Gordonville]]
* [[Hopeland, Pennsylvania|Hopeland]]
* [[Intercourse, Pennsylvania|Intercourse]]
* [[Kirkwood, Pennsylvania|Kirkwood]]
* [[Lampeter, Pennsylvania|Lampeter]]
* [[Landisville, Pennsylvania|Landisville]]
* [[Leola, Pennsylvania|Leola]]
* [[Little Britain, Pennsylvania|Little Britain]]
* [[Maytown, Pennsylvania|Maytown]]
* [[Morgantown, Pennsylvania|Morgantown]] (mostly in [[Berks County, Pennsylvania|Berks County]])
* [[Paradise, Pennsylvania|Paradise]]
* [[Penryn, Pennsylvania|Penryn]]
* [[Reamstown, Pennsylvania|Reamstown]]
* [[Refton, Pennsylvania|Refton]]
* [[Reinholds, Pennsylvania|Reinholds]]
* [[Rheems, Pennsylvania|Rheems]]
* [[Ronks, Pennsylvania|Ronks]]
* [[Rothsville, Pennsylvania|Rothsville]]
* [[Salunga, Pennsylvania|Salunga]]
* [[Schoeneck, Pennsylvania|Schoeneck]]
* [[Smoketown, Pennsylvania|Smoketown]]
* [[Soudersburg, Pennsylvania|Soudersburg]]
* [[Stevens, Pennsylvania|Stevens]]
* [[Swartzville, Pennsylvania|Swartzville]]
* [[Wakefield, Pennsylvania|Wakefield]]
* [[Washington Boro, Pennsylvania|Washington Boro]]
* [[Willow Street, Pennsylvania|Willow Street]]
* [[Witmer, Pennsylvania|Witmer]]
{{div col end}}

===Unincorporated communities===
Many communities are neither incorporated nor treated as census-designated places.

{{div col|colwidth=12em}}
* Aberdeen<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Aberdeen,+PA+17022/@40.1796446,-76.6338083,14z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c898094655b105:0xbaa361d6d9f4fa57!8m2!3d40.17676!4d-76.6233015 ''Aberdeen PA'' (Google Maps, accessed 24 September 2020)]</ref>
* Anchor<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Anchor,+Mt+Joy+Township,+PA+17022/@40.1370288,-76.5886738,15.25z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c898e2e331641d:0x3718e2c5005d7230!8m2!3d40.1373168!4d-76.5813562 ''Anchor, Mt Joy Township PA'' (Google Maps, accessed 24 September 2020)]</ref>
* Bamford<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bamford,+PA+17538/@40.0863644,-76.3965384,13.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c62138f1ca1171:0x6be9bb0adb14548f!8m2!3d40.0850965!4d-76.3888504 ''Bamford PA'' (Google Maps, accessed 24 September 2020)]</ref>
* [[Bareville, Pennsylvania|Bareville]]
* [[Bausman, Pennsylvania|Bausman]]
* Bellaire<ref>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bellaire,+PA+17022/@40.1926576,-76.5889256,13.25z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c8a26b8e794733:0x2c09c5152b22c6a5!8m2!3d40.1914822!4d-76.574968 ''Bellaire PA'' (Google Maps, accessed 24 September 2020)]</ref>
* [[Bellemont, Pennsylvania|Bellemont]]
* [[Blainsport, Pennsylvania|Blainsport]]
* [[Buck, Pennsylvania|Buck]]
*Cambridge (partly in [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester County]])
* [[East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Centerville]]
* [[Central Manor, Pennsylvania|Central Manor]]
* [[Cocalico, Pennsylvania|Cocalico]]
* [[Conewago, Pennsylvania|Conewago]]
* [[Creswell, Pennsylvania|Creswell]]
* [[Dillerville, Pennsylvania|Dillerville]]
* [[East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Donerville]]
* [[Elm, Pennsylvania|Elm]]
* [[Farmersville, Pennsylvania|Farmersville]]
* [[Fertility, Pennsylvania|Fertility]]
* [[Georgetown, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Georgetown]]
* [[Gordonville, Pennsylvania|Gordonville]]
* [[Hempfield, Pennsylvania|Hempfield]]
* [[Hinkletown, Pennsylvania|Hinkletown]]
* [[Holtwood, Pennsylvania|Holtwood]]
* [[Kinzers, Pennsylvania|Kinzers]]
* [[Kissel Hill, Pennsylvania|Kissel Hill]]
* [[Lyndon, Pennsylvania|Lyndon]]
* [[Martindale, Pennsylvania|Martindale]]
* [[Mastersonville, Pennsylvania|Mastersonville]]
* [[Mechanics Grove, Pennsylvania|Mechanics Grove]]
* [[East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Mechanicsville]]
* [[Narvon, Pennsylvania|Narvon]]
* [[Neffsville, Pennsylvania|Neffsville]]
* [[New Danville, Pennsylvania|New Danville]]
* [[New Milltown, Pennsylvania|New Milltown]]
* [[New Providence, Pennsylvania|New Providence]]
* [[Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania|Nickel Mines]]
* [[Ninepoints, Pennsylvania|Ninepoints]]
* [[Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania|Peach Bottom]]
* [[Pequea, Pennsylvania|Pequea]]
* [[Rohrerstown, Pennsylvania|Rohrerstown]]
* [[Safe Harbor, Pennsylvania|Safe Harbor]]
* [[Silver Spring, Pennsylvania|Silver Spring]]
* [[Smoketown, Pennsylvania|Smoketown]]
* [[Talmage, Pennsylvania|Talmage]]
* [[Vintage, Pennsylvania|Vintage]]
* [[White Horse, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|White Horse]]
{{div col end}}

===Population ranking===
The population ranking of the following table is based on the [[2010 United States census|2010 census]] of Lancaster County.<ref>[https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.2010.html 2010 Census]</ref>

'''†''' ''county seat'':

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!City/Town/etc.
!Municipal type
!Population (2010 Census)

|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 1
| '''†''' '''[[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]]'''
| City
| 59,322
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 2
| '''[[Ephrata, Pennsylvania|Ephrata]]'''
| Borough
| 13,394
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 3
| '''[[Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania|Elizabethtown]]'''
| Borough
| 11,545
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 4
| '''[[Columbia, Pennsylvania|Columbia]]'''
| Borough
| 10,400
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 5
| '''[[Lititz, Pennsylvania|Lititz]]'''
| Borough
| 9,369
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 6
| '''[[Millersville, Pennsylvania|Millersville]]'''
| Borough
| 8,168
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 7
| '''[[Willow Street, Pennsylvania|Willow Street]]'''
| CDP
| 7,578
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 8
| '''[[Mount Joy, Pennsylvania|Mount Joy]]'''
| Borough
| 7,410
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 9
| '''[[Leola, Pennsylvania|Leola]]'''
| CDP
| 7,214
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 10
| '''[[New Holland, Pennsylvania|New Holland]]'''
| Borough
| 5,378
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 11
| '''[[Manheim, Pennsylvania|Manheim]]'''
| Borough
| 4,858
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 12
| '''[[East Petersburg, Pennsylvania|East Petersburg]]'''
| Borough
| 4,506
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 13
| '''[[Akron, Pennsylvania|Akron]]'''
| Borough
| 3,876
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 14
| '''[[Denver, Pennsylvania|Denver]]'''
| Borough
| 3,861
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 15
| '''[[Maytown, Pennsylvania|Maytown]]'''
| CDP
| 3,824
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 16
| '''[[Reamstown, Pennsylvania|Reamstown]]'''
| CDP
| 3,361
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 17
| '''[[Rothsville, Pennsylvania|Rothsville]]'''
| CDP
| 3,044
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 18
| '''[[Brownstown, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Brownstown]]'''
| CDP
| 2,816
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 19
| '''[[Strasburg, Pennsylvania|Strasburg]]'''
| Borough
| 2,809
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 20
| '''[[Mountville, Pennsylvania|Mountville]]'''
| Borough
| 2,802
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 21
| '''[[Salunga, Pennsylvania|Salunga]]'''
| CDP
| 2,695
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 22
| '''[[Marietta, Pennsylvania|Marietta]]'''
| Borough
| 2,588
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 23
| '''[[Quarryville, Pennsylvania|Quarryville]]'''
| Borough
| 2,576
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 24
| '''[[Swartzville, Pennsylvania|Swartzville]]'''
| CDP
| 2,283
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 25
| '''[[Bowmansville, Pennsylvania|Bowmansville]]'''
| CDP
| 2,077
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 26
| '''[[Gap, Pennsylvania|Gap]]'''
| CDP
| 1,931
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 27
| '''[[Landisville, Pennsylvania|Landisville]]'''
| CDP
| 1,893
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 28
| '''[[Reinholds, Pennsylvania|Reinholds]]'''
| CDP
| 1,803
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 29
| '''[[Adamstown, Pennsylvania|Adamstown]]''' (''partially in [[Berks County, Pennsylvania|Berks County]]'')
| Borough
| 1,789
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 30
| '''[[Lampeter, Pennsylvania|Lampeter]]'''
| CDP
| 1,669
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 31
| '''[[Rheems, Pennsylvania|Rheems]]'''
| CDP
| 1,598
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 32
| '''[[Clay, Pennsylvania|Clay]]'''
| CDP
| 1,559
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 33
| '''[[Bainbridge, Pennsylvania|Bainbridge]]'''
| CDP
| 1,355
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 34
| '''[[Brickerville, Pennsylvania|Brickerville]]'''
| CDP
| 1,309
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 35
| '''[[Terre Hill, Pennsylvania|Terre Hill]]'''
| Borough
| 1,295
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 36
| '''[[Intercourse, Pennsylvania|Intercourse]]'''
| CDP
| 1,274
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 37
| '''[[Conestoga, Pennsylvania|Conestoga]]'''
| CDP
| 1,258
|- style="background-color:#FFF5EE;"
| 38
| '''[[Christiana, Pennsylvania|Christiana]]'''
| Borough
| 1,168
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 39
| '''[[Fivepointville, Pennsylvania|Fivepointville]]'''
| CDP
| 1,156
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 40
| '''[[East Earl, Pennsylvania|East Earl]]'''
| CDP
| 1,144
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 41
| '''[[Paradise, Pennsylvania|Paradise]]'''
| CDP
| 1,129
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 42
| '''[[Schoeneck, Pennsylvania|Schoeneck]]'''
| CDP
| 1,056
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 43
| '''[[Blue Ball, Pennsylvania|Blue Ball]]'''
| CDP
| 1,031
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 44
| '''[[Penryn, Pennsylvania|Penryn]]'''
| CDP
| 1,024
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 45
| '''[[Georgetown, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Georgetown]]'''
| CDP
| 1,022
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 46
| '''[[Farmersville, Pennsylvania|Farmersville]]'''
| CDP
| 991
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 47
| '''[[Morgantown, Pennsylvania|Morgantown]]''' (''mostly in Berks County'')
| CDP
| 826
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 48
| '''[[Hopeland, Pennsylvania|Hopeland]]'''
| CDP
| 738
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 49
| '''[[Washington Boro, Pennsylvania|Washington Boro]]'''
| CDP
| 729
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 50
| '''[[Stevens, Pennsylvania|Stevens]]'''
| CDP
| 612
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 51
| '''[[Wakefield, Pennsylvania|Wakefield]]'''
| CDP
| 609
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 52
| '''[[Soudersburg, Pennsylvania|Soudersburg]]'''
| CDP
| 540
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 53
| '''[[Gordonville, Pennsylvania|Gordonville]]'''
| CDP
| 508
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 54
| '''[[Witmer, Pennsylvania|Witmer]]'''
| CDP
| 492
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 55
| '''[[Goodville, Pennsylvania|Goodville]]'''
| CDP
| 482
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 56
| '''[[Churchtown, Pennsylvania|Churchtown]]'''
| CDP
| 470
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 57
| '''[[Falmouth, Pennsylvania|Falmouth]]'''
| CDP
| 420
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 58
| '''[[Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania|Bird-in-Hand]]'''
| CDP
| 402
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 59
| '''[[Kirkwood, Pennsylvania|Kirkwood]]'''
| CDP
| 396
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 60
| '''[[Little Britain, Pennsylvania|Little Britain]]'''
| CDP
| 372
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 61
| '''[[Ronks, Pennsylvania|Ronks]]'''
| CDP
| 362
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 62
| '''[[Smoketown, Pennsylvania|Smoketown]]'''
| CDP
| 357
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 63
| '''[[Refton, Pennsylvania|Refton]]'''
| CDP
| 298
|}

==In popular culture==

* The 1985 film ''[[Witness (1985 film)|Witness]]'' took place partially in Lancaster County, where a Philadelphia police officer protects an Amish boy who witnessed a murder while in the Philadelphia<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nark |first1=Jason |title=On Saturday, 'Experience' the Lancaster County Farm Where Harrison Ford's Witness Was Filmed |url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/witness-harrisonford-amish-lancaster-experience-tourism-20190613.html |website=inquirer.com (The Philadelphia Inquirer) |date=June 13, 2019 |publisher=Interstate General Media |access-date=January 9, 2024}}</ref>
* The 1997 film ''[[For Richer or Poorer]]'' involved a wealthy NYC couple, who take refuge in Lancaster County after being framed for tax fraud.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |title=For Richer or Poorer Movie Review |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/for-richer-or-poorer-1997 |website=RogerEbert.com |access-date=January 9, 2024}}</ref>
* The 2010 TV movie ''[[Amish Grace]]'' was a dramatization of the [[West Nickel Mines School shooting|2006 murders of Amish school children in Nickel Mines]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=DeJesus |first1=Ivey |title='Amish Grace' movie fictionalizes Nickel Mines tragedy, generates debate |url=https://www.pennlive.com/midstate/2010/03/controversial_amish_grace_movi.html |website=pennlive.com |date=March 7, 2010 |access-date=January 9, 2024}}</ref>
* ''[[Amish Mafia]]'' was a reality TV show on the Discovery Channel about a group of Amish men in Lancaster County who protect and keep the peace after the 2006 Nickel Mines murders. The series ran from 2012-2015.<ref>{{cite web |last1=George |first1=David |title="Amish Mafia": Is there really such a thing as an Amish thug? |url=https://www.salon.com/2012/12/12/amish_mafia_is_there_really_such_a_thing_as_an_amish_thug/ |website=Salon.com |date=December 13, 2012 |access-date=January 9, 2024}}</ref>
* The 2013 film ''[[Are You Here]]'' was set in Lancaster County, where the protagonists grew up.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Puig |first1=Claudia |title=You may not want to be there for 'Are You Here' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/08/21/are-you-here-review/12972465/ |website=USAToday.com |publisher=Gannett Satellite Information Network |access-date=January 9, 2024}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Lancaster County covered bridges]]
* [[List of Pennsylvania films and television shows]]
* [[List of people from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania]]
* [[Red Rose Transit Authority]]

==References==
{{Notelist}}{{reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* Daniels, Tom, and Lauren Payne-Riley. "Preserving large farming landscapes: The case of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania." ''Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development'' 7.3 (2017): 67-81. [https://foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/download/481/pdf/online]{{Dead link|date=November 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}
* Donnermeyer, Joseph F. "A Demographic Profile of the Greater Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Amish." ''The Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities'' 3.2 (2023): 1-34. [https://plainanabaptistjournal.org/index.php/JPAC/article/download/9154/7875 online]
* Ellis, Franklin, and Samuel Evans. ''History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: With biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men'' (Closson Press, 1883) [https://books.google.com/books?id=yX7Ih0EQUaQC&dq=%22Lancaster+County,+Pennsylvania,%22&pg=PP15 online]
* Henderson, Rodger C. "Demographic patterns and family structure in eighteenth-century Lancaster County, Pennsylvania." '' Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'' 114.3 (1990): 349-383. [https://journals.psu.edu/pmhb/article/download/44587/44308 online]
** HENDERSON, RODGER CRAIGE. "COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND THE REVOLUTIONARY TRANSITION IN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY LANCASTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA" (PhD dissertation,  State University of New York at Binghamton; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  1983. 8309094).
* Klein, Frederic Shriver. ''Lancaster County Since 1841'' (Lancaster County National Bank, 1955).
* Kollmorgen, Walter M. "The agricultural stability of the old order Amish and old order Mennonites of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania." ''American Journal of Sociology'' 49.3 (1943): 233-241. [https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/219372 online]
* Kollmorgen, Walter Martin. ''Culture of a contemporary rural community: the Old Order Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania'' (US Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, 1942) [https://books.google.com/books?id=XHILAQAAIAAJ&dq=%22Lancaster+County,+Pennsylvania,%22&pg=PA1 online].
* Kriebel, Howard Wiegner. "Seeing Lancaster county from a trolley window." (1910). [https://udspace.udel.edu/bitstream/19716/4849/1/SEEING%20LANCASTER%20COUNTY%20FROM%20A%20TROLLEY%20WINDOW.pdf online]
* Kurland, Nancy B., and Sara Jane McCaffrey. "Community socioemotional wealth: Preservation, succession, and farming in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania." ''Family Business Review'' 33.3 (2020): 244-264. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nancy-Kurland/publication/320783808_Preservation_Succession_and_the_Culture_of_Farming_in_Lancaster_County_PA/links/609676e7299bf1ad8d860ae4/Preservation-Succession-and-the-Culture-of-Farming-in-Lancaster-County-PA.pdf online]
* Lawrence, Adam B. "Perceptions of Quality of Life in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania May 2012." (2012). [https://www.millersville.edu/collegecenters/files/cpssc-research-reports/2012-perceptions-quality-of-life-lancaster.pdf online]
* Lord, Arthur C. ''The pre-revolutionary agriculture of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania'' (Lancaster County Historical Society, 1975) [https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/media/library/docs/edit_vol79no1pp23_42.pdf online].
* McMurry, Sally. ''Pennsylvania Farming: A History in Landscapes'' (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2017) see "Chapter 5 Transformations on the Lancaster Plain: The Rise of America’s 'Banner County'" pp.&nbsp;62–78.
* Magee, Erin. " 'Unbecoming and Unfemale a Part': Womanhood and Its Forgotten Role in Shaping the New Republic in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania" (PhD dissertation, Millersville University, 2021). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/community.31982687.pdf?acceptTC=true&coverpage=false&addFooter=false online]
* Mombert, Jacob Isidor. ''An Authentic History of Lancaster County'' (2020) [https://books.google.com/books?id=o9jkDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Lancaster+County,+Pennsylvania,%22&pg=PR8].
* Schneider, David. ''Foundations in a Fertile Soil: Farming and Farm Buildings in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.'' (Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County, 1994)
* Walbert, David James. "Garden spot: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the Old Order Amish, and the selling of rural America" (PhD dissertation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  2000. 9968690).
*  WITTLINGER, CARLTON O. "EARLY MANUFACTURING IN LANCASTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, 1710-1840" (PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  1953. 0004959).
* Wokeck, Marianne. "Cultural Persistence and Adaptation: The Germans of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1729-76." ''Business and Economic History'' (1978): 113-127. [https://thebhc.org/sites/default/files/beh/BEHprint/v007/p0113-p0127.pdf online]

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [http://www.co.lancaster.pa.us County website]
*[https://www.discoverlancaster.com/ Official Discover Lancaster website]
*[https://lancasterpa.com/visitors/ Pennsylvania Dutch Country Welcome Center website]

{{Geographic location
| Centre = Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
| North = [[Lebanon County, Pennsylvania|Lebanon County]]
| Northeast = [[Berks County, Pennsylvania|Berks County]]
| East = [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester County]]
| Southeast =
| South = [[Harford County, Maryland]] and [[Cecil County, Maryland]]
| Southwest =
| West = [[York County, Pennsylvania|York County]]
| Northwest = [[Dauphin County, Pennsylvania|Dauphin County]]
}}
{{Lancaster County, Pennsylvania}}
{{Pennsylvania}}
{{authority control}}

{{coord|40.04|-76.25|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-PA_source:UScensus1990}}

[[Category:Lancaster County, Pennsylvania| ]]
[[Category:1729 establishments in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Amish in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1729]]