Dauphin County, PA

County

Add Comparison

2024 Population

289,593

US Senator

John Fetterman

Democratic Party

US Senator

Dave McCormick

Republican Party

2024 Poverty Rate

12.9%

4.77% 1-year increase

2024 Median Household Income

$76,242

2.81% 1-year growth

2024 Median Property Value

$236,400

6.34% 1-year growth

2024 Employed Population

142,626

0.00491% 1-year decline

About

None of the households in Dauphin County, PA reported speaking a non-English language at home as their primary shared language. This does not consider the potential multi-lingual nature of households, but only the primary self-reported language spoken by all members of the household.

95.4% of the residents in Dauphin County, PA are U.S. citizens.

The largest universities in Dauphin County, PA are Harrisburg Area Community College (2,051 degrees awarded in 2023), Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg (953 degrees), and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (797 degrees).

In 2024, the median property value in Dauphin County, PA was $236,400, and the homeownership rate was 63.1%.

Most people in Dauphin County, PA drove alone to work, and the average commute time was 21.5 minutes. The average car ownership in Dauphin County, PA was 2 cars per household.

Dauphin County, PA borders Cumberland County, PA, Juniata County, PA, Lancaster County, PA, Lebanon County, PA, Northumberland County, PA, Perry County, PA, Schuylkill County, PA, and York County, PA.

About the photo: Market Street Bridge, Harrisburg, PA

Photo by David Flores

United States Pennsylvania Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA

Population & Diversity

Dauphin County, PA is home to a population of 290k people, from which 95.4% are citizens. As of 2024, 8.41% of Dauphin County, PA residents were born outside of the country (24.4k people).

In 2024, there were 3.72 times more White (Non-Hispanic) residents (175k people) in Dauphin County, PA than any other race or ethnicity. There were 47.1k Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) and 18.9k Asian (Non-Hispanic) residents, the second and third most common ethnic groups.

Population & Diversity

Citizenship

95.4%

2024 Citizenship

95.9%

2023 Citizenship

As of 2024, 95.4% of Dauphin County, PA residents were US citizens, which is higher than the national average of 93.2%. In 2023, the percentage of US citizens in Dauphin County, PA was 95.9%, meaning that the rate of citizenship has been decreasing.

The following chart shows US citizenship percentages in Dauphin County, PA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Diversity

Race and Ethnicity

The 3 largest ethnic groups in Dauphin County, PA

White (Non-Hispanic)
175k ± 938
Black or African American (Non-Hispanic)
47.1k ± 946
Asian (Non-Hispanic)
18.9k ± 484

11.8%

Hispanic Population

34k people

11.8% of the people in Dauphin County, PA are hispanic (34k people).

The following chart shows the 8 races represented in Dauphin County, PA as a share of the total population.

Global Diversity

The PUMS dataset is not available at the County level, so we are showing data for Pennsylvania.

Most Common Origin

India
99,504 ± 7,715 people
Dominican Republic
93,569 ± 7,483 people
China
70,789 ± 6,514 people

In 2023, the most common birthplace for the foreign-born residents of Pennsylvania was India, the natal country of 99,504 Pennsylvania residents, followed by Dominican Republic with 93,569 and China with 70,789.

Foreign-Born Population

8.41%

2024 Foreign-Born Population

24.4k people

8.09%

2023 Foreign-Born Population

23.3k people

As of 2024, 8.41% of Dauphin County, PA residents (24.4k people) were born outside of the United States, which is approximately the same as the national average of 14%. In 2023, the percentage of foreign-born citizens in Dauphin County, PA was 8.09%, meaning that the rate has been increasing.

The following chart shows the percentage of foreign-born residents in Dauphin County, PA compared to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Military

Veterans

Most Common Service Period

Vietnam
4,366 ± 511
Gulf War (2001-)
3,571 ± 538
Gulf War (1990s)
2,424 ± 378

Dauphin County, PA has a large population of military personnel who served in Vietnam, 1.22 times greater than any other conflict.

The chart shows the distribution of veterans by conflict in Dauphin County, PA.

Economy

The economy of Dauphin County, PA employs 143k people. In 2024, the largest industries in Dauphin County, PA were Health Care & Social Assistance (25,542 people), Retail Trade (15,757 people), and Educational Services (11,602 people), and the highest paying industries were Management of Companies & Enterprises ($106,048), Utilities ($79,755), and Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services ($77,128).

Employment

Occupations

143k

2024 Value

± 3,490

−0.00491%

1 Year decline

± 3.53%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Dauphin County, PA declined at a rate of −0.00491%, from 143k employees to 143k employees.

The most common job groups, by number of people living in Dauphin County, PA, are Office & Administrative Support Occupations (16,690 people), Management Occupations (15,843 people), and Sales & Related Occupations (11,850 people). This chart illustrates the share breakdown of the primary jobs held by residents of Dauphin County, PA.

Unemployment Insurance Claims

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Pennsylvania.

This chart shows weekly unemployment insurance claims in Pennsylvania (not-seasonally adjusted) compared with the four states with the most similar impact.

The most recent data point uses Advance State Claims data, which can be revised in subsequent weeks.

Industries

Employment by Industries

143k

2024 Value

± 3,490

−0.00491%

1 Year decline

± 3.53%

From 2023 to 2024, employment in Dauphin County, PA declined at a rate of −0.00491%, from 143k employees to 143k employees.

The most common employment sectors for those who live in Dauphin County, PA, are Health Care & Social Assistance (25,542 people), Retail Trade (15,757 people), and Educational Services (11,602 people). This chart shows the share breakdown of the primary industries for residents of Dauphin County, PA, though some of these residents may live in Dauphin County, PA and work somewhere else. Census data is tagged to a residential address, not a work address.

Median Earnings by Industry

$56,989

Median earning men ± $1,713

$42,081

Median earning women ± $948

The industries with the best median earnings for men in 2024 are Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($83,080), Public Administration ($72,254), and Information ($71,221).

The industries with the best median earnings for women in 2024 are Professional, Scientific, & Management, & Administrative & Waste Management Services ($59,832), Public Administration ($59,530), and Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing ($57,650).

Employment by Industry Sector

Data is only available at the state level. Showing data for Pennsylvania.

Y-Axis

2.78%

Year-over-year growth

Employment change between February 2022 and February 2023

As of February 2023, there are 6.03M people employed in Pennsylvania. This represents a 2.78% increase in employment when compared to February 2022.

Right after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, during April 2020, a general dip can be seen across industry sectors, resulting in an overall decline in employment by 18.1%.

The following chart shows monthly employment numbers for each industry sector in Pennsylvania.

Establishments by Size

The industries with the most establishments

605
Other Services (except Public Administration)
382
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
348
Retail Trade

The visualization shows the distribution of establishments by industry and by size according to the number of employees.

The visualization shows the number of establishments and its share across establishment sizes.

Payroll by Industry Sector

The industries with the highest total annual payroll

$2.36M
Health Care and Social Assistance
$1.07M
Management of Companies and Enterprises
$832k
Finance and Insurance

The chart shows the total annual payroll and the average annual payroll by industry.

Civics

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Pennsylvania went to Donald J. Trump with 50.4% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (48.7%), followed by Jill Stein (0.491%).

John Fetterman and Dave McCormick are the senators currently representing the state of Pennsylvania. In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

Pennsylvania is currently represented by 17 members in the U.S. house, and members of the House of Representives are elected to 2-year terms.

Presidential Elections

Presidential Popular Vote Over Time

Voting results are not available for Dauphin County, PA. Showing the available data for Pennsylvania.

2024 Election Results

Donald J. Trump (50.4%)
Republican Party
Kamala Harris (48.7%)
Democratic Party
Jill Stein (0.491%)
Green Party

In the 2024 presidential election, the popular vote in Pennsylvania went to Donald J. Trump with 50.4% of the vote. The runner-up was Kamala Harris (48.7%), followed by Jill Stein (0.491%).

The following chart shows the popular vote results in Pennsylvania for each registered party from 1976 to 2024.

Senator Elections

US Senators from Pennsylvania

Senatorial voting results are only available at the state level. Showing data for Pennsylvania.

John Fetterman

Senator from Pennsylvania

Assumed office on January 3, 2023

Dave McCormick

Senator from Pennsylvania

Assumed office on January 3, 2025

John Fetterman and Dave McCormick are the senators currently representing Pennsylvania.

In the United States, senators are elected to 6-year terms with the terms for individual senators staggered.

The following chart shows elected senators in Pennsylvania over time, excluding special elections, colored by their political party.

Education

In 2023, universities in Dauphin County, PA awarded 3,993 degrees. The student population of Dauphin County, PA in 2023 is skewed towards women, with 9,193 male students and 12,090 female students.

Most students graduating from Universities in Dauphin County, PA are White (2,096 and 64.9%), Hispanic or Latino (352 and 10.9%), Black or African American (304 and 9.42%), and Asian (239 and 7.4%).

The largest universities in Dauphin County, PA by number of degrees awarded are Harrisburg Area Community College (2,051 and 51.4%), Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg (953 and 23.9%), and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (797 and 20%).

The most popular majors in Dauphin County, PA are Registered Nursing (468 and 11.7%), Management Science (317 and 7.94%), and General Business Administration & Management (199 and 4.98%).

The median tuition costs are $23,900 for private four year colleges, and $15,388 and $26,112 respectively, for public four year colleges for in-state students and out-of-state students.

Admissions & Enrollments

Applicants, Admissions & Enrolled

University

Measure

In 2023 in Dauphin County, PA, the percentage of applicants admitted was 94.8%, while the percentage of admitted who enrolled was 12.3%. The number of students enrolled in 2023 was 21,283 (43.2% men and 56.8% women).

The line chart shows the evolution of the percentage of applicants admitted, admitted who enrolled or the number of students enrolled according to the option selected in the upper button.

Enrollments by Gender and Races

Universities

In 2023 there were 21,283 students enrolled in Dauphin County, PA, 43.2% men and 56.8% women.

By race, the largest number of students enrolled was concentrated in White with 10,514 records, of which 59.5% were women and 40.5% men.

Completions

Concentrations

Most Common

Registered Nursing
462 degrees awarded
General Studies
179 degrees awarded
General Business Administration & Management
175 degrees awarded

In 2023, the most common concentation for Associates Degree recipients in Dauphin County, PA was Registered Nursing with 462 degrees awarded.

This visualization illustrates the percentage of students graduating with a Associates Degree from schools in Dauphin County, PA according to their major.

Universities

Gender

Race

Largest Universities by degrees awarded

Harrisburg Area Community College
2,051 degrees awarded
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg
953 degrees awarded
Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
797 degrees awarded

In 2023, the institution with the largest number of graduating students was Harrisburg Area Community College with 2,051 degrees awarded.

Student Diversity

University

In 2023, 1,594 men were awarded degrees from institutions in Dauphin County, PA, which is 0.664 times less than the 2,399 female students who received degrees in the same year.

In 2023, the most common race/ethnicity group awarded degrees at institutions was White students. These 2,096 degrees mean that there were 5.95 times more degrees awarded to White students then the next closest race/ethnicity group, Hispanic or Latino, with 352 degrees awarded.

Awarded Degrees over Time

The graph shows the evolution of awarded degrees by degrees. Under the paragraphs, the average number of awarded degrees by university in each degree is shown.

Tuition

Average Net Price by Sector

Universities

Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above ($23,900) is the sector with the highest median state tuition in 2023.

Public, 2-year ($1,500) is the sector with the highest median state fee in 2023.

Public, 2-year ($2,232) is the sector with the highest average net price of books and supplies.

The graph shows the average net price by sector and year.

Housing & Living

The median property value in Dauphin County, PA was $236,400 in 2024, which is 0.711 times smaller than the national average of $332,700. Between 2023 and 2024 the median property value increased from $222,300 to $236,400, a 6.34% increase. The homeownership rate in Dauphin County, PA is 63.1%, which is lower than the national average of 65.2%.

People in Dauphin County, PA have an average commute time of 21.5 minutes, and they drove alone to work. Car ownership in Dauphin County, PA is approximately the same as the national average, with an average of 2 cars per household.

In 2025, 13.7% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Dauphin County, PA. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator grew 0.42%.

Housing

Property

$236,400

Median Property Value 2024

±$3,814

$76,556

Median Property Taxes

±$1,990

The following chart display owner-occupied housing units distributed between a series of property tax buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. In Dauphin County, PA the largest share of households pay taxes in the $3k+ range.

The chart underneath the paragraph shows the property taxes in Dauphin County, PA compared to it's parent and neighbor geographies.

Rent vs Own

63.1%

Homeownership

2024

64.5%

Homeowners with Mortgage

2024

In 2024, 63.1% of the housing units in Dauphin County, PA were occupied by their owner. This percentage declined from the previous year's rate of 63.3%.

This chart shows the percentage of owner in Dauphin County, PA compared it's parent and neighboring geographies.

Equity

Household Income

Please note that the buckets used in this visualization were not evenly distributed by ACS when publishing the data.

$76,242

Median Household Income

± $1,935

121k

Number of Households

± 2,979

In 2024, the median household income of the 121k households in Dauphin County, PA grew to $76,242 from the previous year's value of $74,159.

The following chart displays the households in Dauphin County, PA distributed between a series of income buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households have an income in the $75k - $100k range.

Wage Distribution

The closest comparable wage GINI for Dauphin County, PA is from Pennsylvania.

0.463

2023 Wage GINI in Pennsylvania

0.466

2022 Wage GINI in Pennsylvania

In 2023, the income inequality in Pennsylvania was 0.463 according to the GINI calculation of the wage distribution. Income inequality had a 0.564% decline from 2022 to 2023, which means that wage distribution grew somewhat more even. The GINI for Pennsylvania was lower than than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly in Pennsylvania in comparison to the national average.

This chart shows the number of workers in Pennsylvania across various wage buckets compared to the national average.

Transportation

Commuter Transportation

Most Common Commute in 2024

Drove Alone (68.5%)
Worked At Home (16.8%)
Carpooled (8.22%)

In 2024, 68.5% of workers in Dauphin County, PA drove alone to work, followed by those who worked at home (16.8%) and those who carpooled to work (8.22%).

The following chart shows the number of households using each mode of transportation over time, using a logarithmic scale on the y-axis to help better show variations in the smaller means of commuting.

Commute Time

21.5 minutes

Average Travel Time

Using averages, employees in Dauphin County, PA have a shorter commute time (21.5 minutes) than the normal US worker (26.4 minutes). Additionally, 1.42% of the workforce in Dauphin County, PA have "super commutes" in excess of 90 minutes.

The chart below shows how the median household income in Dauphin County, PA compares to that of it's neighboring and parent geographies.

Car Ownership

2 cars

Average Number

The following chart displays the households in Dauphin County, PA distributed between a series of car ownership buckets compared to the national averages for each bucket. The largest share of households in Dauphin County, PA have 2 cars.

Poverty

Severe Housing Problems

In 2025, 13.7% of the population was living with severe housing problems in Dauphin County, PA. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator grew 0.42%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the population living with severe housing problems.

Poverty & Diversity

12.9% of the population for whom poverty status is determined in Dauphin County, PA (36.7k out of 285k people) live below the poverty line, a number that is higher than the national average of 12.5%. The largest demographic living in poverty are Females 25 - 34, followed by Females 35 - 44 and then Females 55 - 64.

The most common racial or ethnic group living below the poverty line in Dauphin County, PA is White, followed by Black and Hispanic.

The Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who classifies as impoverished. If a family's total income is less than the family's threshold than that family and every individual in it is considered to be living in poverty.

Children in Poverty

In 2025, 19% of the children was living in poverty in Dauphin County, PA. From 2014 to 2025, the indicator declined 2.3%.

The graph shows the trend of the percentage of the children living in poverty.

Social Needs

Data only available at the state level.

Most prevalent states

California
35,798 individuals
New York
5,087 individuals
Florida
4,915 individuals

In 2017, California had the highest estimated number of chronically homeless individuals in the nation, at 35,798. New York has the second highest (5,087), followed by Florida (4,915).

The following map shows the estimated number of chronically homeless individuals by state over multiple years.

Security

Crimes & Accidents

Indicator

In 2022, the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population was 403 in Dauphin County, PA. From 2014 to 2022, the indicator declined 109 per 100,000 population.

The graph shows the trend in the number of reported violent crimes offenses per 100,000 population.

Health

93.6% of the population of Dauphin County, PA has health coverage, with 49.3% on employee plans, 17.8% on Medicaid, 13.3% on Medicare, 12.2% on non-group plans, and 0.894% on military or VA plans.

Primary care physicians in Dauphin County, PA see 968 patients per year on average, which represents a 0% change from the previous year (968 patients). Compare this to dentists who see 1350 patients per year, and mental health providers who see 346 patients per year.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 48.6% were men and 51.4% were women.

Coverage

Patient to Clinician Ratios

968 to 1

Patient to Primary Care Physician Ratio in Dauphin County, PA

Primary care physicians in Dauphin County, PA see an average of 968 patients per year. This represents a 0% change from the previous year (968 patients).

The following chart shows how the number of patients seen by primary care physicians has been changing over time in Dauphin County, PA in comparison to its neighboring geographies.

Health Care Diversity

In 2024, insured persons according to age ranges were distributed in 23.8% under 18 years, 20.6% between 18 and 34 years, 37.7% between 35 and 64 years, and 17.9% over 64 years.

By gender, of the total number of insured persons, 48.6% were men and 51.4% were women.

The following chart shows the number of people with health coverage by gender.

Uninsured People

6.43%

Uninsured

49.3%

Employer Coverage

17.8%

Medicaid

13.3%

Medicare

12.2%

Non-Group

0.894%

Military or VA

Between 2023 and 2024, the percent of uninsured citizens in Dauphin County, PA grew by 1.6% from 6.33% to 6.43%.

The following chart shows how the percent of uninsured individuals in Dauphin County, PA changed over time compared with the percent of individuals enrolled in various types of health insurance.

Health Indicators

Health Outcomes

Indicator

In 2025, the number of deaths among residents under age 18 per 100,000 population was 59.3 in Dauphin County, PA.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Dauphin County, PA.

Health Behaviors

Indicator

In 2025, the percentage of the adult population (age 18 and older) that reports a body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2 (age-adjusted) was 34.3% in Dauphin County, PA.

The graphic shows the trend of the indicator in Dauphin County, PA.