Johnstown composite
56.4 /100
Grade B+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Johnstown vs Lancaster
Johnstown, PA and Lancaster, PA side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 56.4
- Johnstown Life Score
- B+
- Johnstown grade
- 40.8
- Lancaster Life Score
- C-
- Lancaster grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Johnstown scores higher on 3 (cost of living, rent, safety) and Lancaster on 3 (wages, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Johnstown vs Lancaster across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Johnstown Lancaster ◗
cost of living
95
28
wages
8
48
rent
90
30
safety
70
69
schools
16
16
childcare
0
0
environment
45
50
Johnstown and Lancaster differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Johnstown has a cost-of-living index of 85.9 vs Lancaster's 98.3 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $57,143 in Johnstown and $63,734 in Lancaster. A 2-bedroom averages $1,035/mo vs $1,526/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Johnstown vs Lancaster Comparison
Johnstown (PA) and Lancaster (PA) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 85.9 for Johnstown against 98.3 for Lancaster, a 12.3-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,035/mo in Johnstown and $1,526/mo in Lancaster, a $491/mo difference that compounds to $5,892 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $57,143 across 42,320 jobs in Johnstown against $63,734 across 241,090 jobs in Lancaster. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Johnstown carries the same local purchasing power as $114,347 in Lancaster - the most honest way to read the salary headline, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 249.5 per 100,000 residents in PA vs 249.5 in PA, with property-crime rates of 1457.1 and 1457.1 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: PA lists 2,930 public schools at a 13.6:1 student-teacher ratio, while PA lists 2,930 schools at 13.6:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Johnstown and Lancaster are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Lancaster composite
40.8 /100
Grade C- · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
-12.3 pts
Johnstown vs Lancaster BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$491 /mo
Lancaster priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Johnstown
Johnstown composite (Grade B+)
Lancaster
Lancaster composite (Grade C-)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Johnstown | Lancaster |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 85.9 | 98.3 |
| Goods | 100.7 | 100.7 |
| Services | 108.9 | 107.3 |
| Rents | 42.3 | 93.8 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Lancaster gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Johnstown?
$
Equivalent in Lancaster:
$114,347
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Johnstown: 85.9, Lancaster: 98.3, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Johnstown | Lancaster |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $840/mo | $1,102/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $846/mo | $1,220/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,035/mo | $1,526/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,431/mo | $1,980/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,484/mo | $2,020/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Johnstown | Lancaster |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $57,143 | $63,734 |
| Total Employment | 42,320 | 241,090 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Johnstown (PA) | Lancaster (PA) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 249.5 | 249.5 |
| Property Crime | 1457.1 | 1457.1 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | PA | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 2,930 | 2,930 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 13.6:1 | 13.6:1 |
| Charter Schools | 6.0% | 6.0% |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | PA | PA |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 1,241 | 1,241 |
| Water Systems | 1,787 | 1,787 |
| Superfund Sites | 127 | 127 |
| Water Violations | 5,198 | 5,198 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Johnstown | Lancaster |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 42.0 | 50.0 |
| Good Air Days | 73.7% | 51.6% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | 3 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | PA | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 4/100 | 4/100 |
| Total Violations | 1,159,868 | 1,159,868 |
| Health-Based Violations | 68,517 | 68,517 |
| Systems with Violations | 97.1% | 97.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | PA | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 392 | 392 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | PA | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 40/100 | 40/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 67.4 | 67.4 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 66.6 | 66.6 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Johnstown more expensive than Lancaster? ▼
Johnstown has a cost of living index of 85.9 compared to Lancaster's 98.3 (national average = 100). Lancaster is 12.3 points above Johnstown on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Johnstown and Lancaster? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,035/mo in Johnstown vs $1,526/mo in Lancaster, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $840/mo to $1,102/mo.
How do salaries compare between Johnstown and Lancaster? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $57,143 in Johnstown and $63,734 in Lancaster, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Johnstown has the same purchasing power as $114,347 in Lancaster.
Is Johnstown or Lancaster safer? ▼
At the state level, PA has a violent crime rate of 249.5 per 100,000 residents compared to PA's 249.5 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1457.1 vs 1457.1 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Johnstown and Lancaster? ▼
PA has 2,930 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.6:1, while PA has 2,930 schools at 13.6:1. Charter schools make up 6.0% of PA schools vs 6.0% in PA. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial