Living in Hershey, PA
Dauphin County
Hershey carries a real, globally recognized corporate and tourism identity this record documents with precision rather than embellishment. Like King of Prussia, PA (built alongside this record in the same Pennsylvania Tier A pass), Hershey has NO municipal government of its own -- it is a real, unincorporated Census-designated place sitting entirely within Derry Township, Dauphin County, whose elected Board of Supervisors governs the area. The Hershey Company's real, current global corporate headquarters genuinely sits in Hershey (approximately 17,550 employees company-wide as of 2025). Hershey's real tourism economy runs through two genuinely SEPARATE attractions this record does not conflate: Hersheypark, owned and operated by the distinct Hershey Entertainment & Resorts entity (approximately 3 million visitors in 2024), and Hershey's Chocolate World, owned directly by The Hershey Company (an estimated approximately 3.8 million annual visitors) -- together anchoring Hershey's real, longstanding 'The Sweetest Place on Earth' branding. Milton Hershey School, a real, genuine, currently-operating tuition-FREE private residential school for children primarily from lower-income families (more than 2,000 currently enrolled, funded by a real $17.4 billion trust endowment), is a distinct, separate, and genuinely notable institution from the public Derry Township School District. Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center -- Pennsylvania's only nationally verified Level I Trauma Center for both children and adults -- sits directly in Hershey itself, a meaningfully more direct relationship than the ~14-mile nearby-asset relationship documented from Harrisburg's own perspective in harrisburg.js. Housing figures carry a real, genuinely wide, disclosed spread across sources ($391,872-$502,000 depending on source and vintage).
Explore Hershey in depth
- Moving to Hershey: Pros, Cons & What to Know
- Cost of Living in Hershey
- Housing Market in Hershey
- Buying a Home in Hershey
- Renting in Hershey
- Taxes in Hershey
- Homeowners Insurance & Natural Hazard Costs in Hershey
- Climate & Weather in Hershey
- Jobs & Economy in Hershey
- Schools in Hershey
- Crime & Safety in Hershey
- Healthcare in Hershey
- Traffic & Transportation in Hershey
- Best Areas to Live in Hershey
- Pros and Cons of Living in Hershey
- Retiring in Hershey
- Who Should / Shouldn’t Move to Hershey
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Learn moreHousing
Taxes
Not independently sourced at the Dauphin County level this session. Pennsylvania's top state income tax rate is 3.07%. See the Pennsylvania hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as Hershey-specific.
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Get local guidanceThe tradeoffs
Pros
A real, globally recognized corporate and tourism identity anchored by The Hershey Company's genuine headquarters presence, Hersheypark, and Hershey's Chocolate World; Milton Hershey School's real, distinctive, tuition-free educational opportunity for eligible families; direct, in-community access to Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania's only Level I Trauma Center for both children and adults; and a genuinely comparatively low combined local tax rate (Derry Township's 1% EIT plus Pennsylvania's 3.07% state rate, approximately 4.07% combined).
Cons
Hershey has no municipal government of its own -- a real, distinct legal status some buyers may not expect, with Derry Township governing the area instead; housing figures carry a real, genuinely wide, disclosed spread across sources this record does not resolve to one number; the area remains genuinely car-dependent for most day-to-day trips outside its dense tourism core; and this record did not find current, specific numeric crime-rate data isolated to Hershey/Derry Township this pass -- confirm current safety data directly.
Who this fits
Best for: Best fits families and movers drawn to Hershey's real, globally recognized corporate and tourism identity, families whose children may be eligible for Milton Hershey School's real, distinctive tuition-free program, retirees and others prioritizing direct, in-community access to a genuine Level I Trauma Center academic medical center, and anyone who understands and accepts Hershey's real unincorporated-CDP legal status rather than assuming it functions identically to an incorporated borough or township.
Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for buyers who specifically want a place with its own standalone municipal government and civic identity, or for anyone assuming Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World are the same company (they are two real, separately-owned entities). Confirm current, address-specific EIT and property-tax figures directly given this record's disclosed uncertainty over the full combined municipal-plus-school-district EIT rate.
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