Lebanon County (/ˈlɛbənən/ LEB-ən-ən; Pennsylvania German: Lebnen Kaundi) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 143,257. Its county seat is the city of Lebanon. It lies 72 miles northwest of Philadelphia, which is the nearest major city. The county is part of the South Central Pennsylvania region of the state.

The county was formed from portions of Dauphin and Lancaster counties in 1813, with minor boundary revisions in 1814 and 1821. Lebanon County comprises the Lebanon metropolitan statistical area, which is part of the Harrisburg–York–Lebanon combined statistical area.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 362 square miles (940 km), of which 362 square miles (940 km) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km) (0.2%) is water. Most of it is drained by the Swatara Creek into the Susquehanna River while some eastern portions are drained by the Tulpehocken Creek (which originates in the county near Myerstown) eastward into the Schuylkill River. It consists in large part of a valley.

The county has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) and the hardiness zone is 7a, except in higher areas north of the Interstate 78 and 81 corridor, where it is 6b. Average monthly temperatures in center-city Lebanon range from 29.4 °F in January to 74.3 °F in July.

• Schuylkill County (northeast)
• Berks County (east)
• Lancaster County (south)
• Dauphin County (west and northwest)

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1820	16,988		—
1830	20,557		21.0%
1840	21,872		6.4%
1850	26,071		19.2%
1860	31,831		22.1%
1870	34,096		7.1%
1880	38,476		12.8%
1890	48,131		25.1%
1900	53,827		11.8%
1910	59,565		10.7%
1920	63,152		6.0%
1930	67,103		6.3%
1940	72,641		8.3%
1950	81,683		12.4%
1960	90,853		11.2%
1970	99,665		9.7%
1980	108,582		8.9%
1990	113,744		4.8%
2000	120,327		5.8%
2010	133,568		11.0%
2020	143,257		7.3%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2019

As of the census of 2000, there were 120,327 people and 32,771 families residing in the county. The population density was 332 people per square mile (128 people/km). There were 49,320 housing units at an average density of 136 units per square mile (53/km). The racial makeup of the county was 94.46% White, 1.29% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.26% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. 4.96% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 45.6% were of German, 11.8% American and 6.1% Irish ancestry. 92.5% spoke English, 4.2% Spanish and 1.1% Pennsylvania Dutch as their first language.

There were 46,551 households, out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.40% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.70% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.70 males.

Lebanon County racial composition

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	114,004	79.6%
Black or African American (NH)	2,555	1.8%
Native American (NH)	119	0.1%
Asian (NH)	2,192	1.53%
Pacific Islander (NH)	39	0.03%
Other/mixed (NH)	4,000	2.8%
Hispanic or Latino	20,348	14.2%

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has designated Lebanon County as the Lebanon, PA metropolitan statistical area (MSA). As of the 2010 U.S. census the metropolitan area ranked 16th most populous in the State of Pennsylvania and the 296th most populous in the United States with a population of 133,568. Lebanon County is also a part of the larger Harrisburg–York–Lebanon combined statistical area (CSA), which combines the populations of Lebanon County as well as Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry, and York counties in Pennsylvania. The combined statistical area ranked 5th largest in the state and 43rd largest in the U.S., with a population of 1,219,422.

United States presidential election results for Lebanon County, Pennsylvania

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	48,282	65.26%	24,734	33.43%	970	1.31%
2020	46,731	65.03%	23,932	33.30%	1,195	1.66%
2016	40,525	64.84%	18,953	30.32%	3,025	4.84%
2012	35,872	63.18%	19,900	35.05%	1,005	1.77%
2008	34,314	58.59%	23,310	39.80%	939	1.60%
2004	37,089	66.63%	18,109	32.53%	467	0.84%
2000	28,534	62.17%	16,093	35.06%	1,270	2.77%
1996	21,885	53.73%	14,187	34.83%	4,663	11.45%
1992	21,512	50.00%	12,350	28.71%	9,159	21.29%
1988	24,415	66.69%	11,912	32.54%	281	0.77%
1984	27,008	71.61%	10,520	27.89%	188	0.50%
1980	24,495	68.99%	8,281	23.32%	2,731	7.69%
1976	20,880	62.65%	11,785	35.36%	665	2.00%
1972	25,008	77.38%	6,683	20.68%	629	1.95%
1968	21,832	64.16%	9,529	28.01%	2,664	7.83%
1964	17,891	52.86%	15,882	46.93%	72	0.21%
1960	25,525	68.33%	11,761	31.49%	67	0.18%
1956	22,556	68.35%	10,406	31.53%	41	0.12%
1952	20,726	63.83%	11,611	35.76%	135	0.42%
1948	15,553	61.62%	9,418	37.31%	270	1.07%
1944	15,206	56.00%	11,818	43.52%	129	0.48%
1940	13,449	50.08%	13,315	49.58%	93	0.35%
1936	13,213	48.09%	13,800	50.23%	463	1.69%
1932	10,487	58.97%	5,924	33.31%	1,373	7.72%
1928	16,841	82.30%	3,278	16.02%	345	1.69%
1924	9,494	74.27%	2,464	19.28%	825	6.45%
1920	8,778	70.78%	3,016	24.32%	608	4.90%
1916	5,876	57.45%	3,821	37.36%	531	5.19%
1912	2,378	22.48%	2,972	28.09%	5,230	49.43%
1908	6,874	67.08%	2,858	27.89%	515	5.03%
1904	6,938	70.19%	2,449	24.78%	497	5.03%
1900	7,089	66.76%	3,050	28.72%	479	4.51%
1896	7,288	70.60%	2,819	27.31%	216	2.09%
1892	5,403	59.11%	3,409	37.29%	329	3.60%
1888	6,096	61.61%	3,670	37.09%	129	1.30%
1884	5,207	63.45%	2,977	36.28%	22	0.27%
1880	5,042	60.95%	3,218	38.90%	13	0.16%

According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans comprise a majority of registered voters in Lebanon County.

Lebanon County voter registration statistics as of January 2, 2024
Political party		Total voters	Percentage
	Republican	50,528	55.42%
	Democratic	26,238	28.78%
	No party affiliation	10,420	11.43%
	Minor parties	3,978	4.36%
Total		91,164	100.00%

The county is located in the 9th congressional district, represented by Dan Meuser, Republican.

All of the county falls within the 48th Senatorial District. The seat is currently held by Lebanon business owner and Republican Chris Gebhard.

The county is divided into the 98th, 101st, and 102nd Pennsylvania House Districts.

The 98th District, which includes Mt. Gretna Borough, South Annville Township, and South Londonderry Township is represented by Republican Tom Jones.

The 101st District, served by Republican John Schlegel, includes:

Cornwall Borough Lebanon City North Cornwall Twp.

North Lebanon Twp. South Lebanon Twp. West Cornwall Twp. West Lebanon Twp.

The 102nd District, served by Republican Russ Diamond, includes:

Annville Twp. Bethel Twp. Cleona Borough Cold Spring Twp. East Hanover Twp. Heidelberg Twp.

Jackson Twp. Jonestown Borough Millcreek Twp. Myerstown Borough

North Annville Twp. Richland Borough North Londonderry Twp. Palmyra Borough Richland Borough

Swatara Twp. Union Twp.

The county is governed by three commissioners, who are elected every four years from a slate of four candidates (two Democrats and two Republicans). Other elected officials include County Controller, Sheriff, Coroner, Prothonotary and Clerk of Court, Recorder of Deeds, County Treasurer, and Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court.

For most of its history, Lebanon County has been one of the most Republican counties in Pennsylvania. The county is strongly Republican even by the standards of south-central Pennsylvania. It is very conservative for an urban county, having only supported a Democrat for president once since 1880. That came when Franklin D. Roosevelt won it in his 46-state landslide reelection; even then, FDR only carried it by 587 votes. The only other time since 1880 that the county has failed to support a Republican was in 1912, when the GOP was mortally divided and Theodore Roosevelt carried it on the Bull Moose ticket.

In 1964, Lebanon County was one of only four counties in the state to vote for Barry Goldwater, along with Snyder, Union, and Wayne counties.

In the 2006 election for U.S. Senate, the county cast 21,756 votes (55.1%) for Republican Rick Santorum and 17,737 (44.9%) for Democrat Bob Casey, Jr., who won the race. In that year's gubernatorial election, the county cast 22,775 votes (57.5%) for Republican Lynn Swann and 16,813 (42.5%) for Democrat Ed Rendell, who won the race.

In the 2004 presidential election, the county cast 37,089 votes (66.6%) for Republican George W. Bush and 18,109 (32.5%) for Democrat John Kerry. In that same year's election for U.S. Senate, the county cast 35,336 votes (66.8%) for Republican Arlen Specter, 13,182 for Democrat Joe Hoeffel, 3,320 (6.3%) for Constitution Party candidate Jim Clymer, and 1,083 (2.0%) for Libertarian Betsy Summers. In the 2008 presidential election the county cast 34,314 votes (58.59%) for Republican John McCain and 23,310 votes (39.8%) for Barack Obama. In the 2016 presidential election, the county cast 38,804 votes (65,9%) for Republican Donald Trump and 17,860 votes (30,3%) for Democrat Hillary Clinton.

In the 2002 gubernatorial election, the county cast 22,659 votes (62.7%) for Republican Mike Fisher and 12,712 (35.2%) for Democrat Ed Rendell, who won the race. In the 2002 race for the U.S. House of Representatives, Republican George Gekas received 21,733 votes (60.9%) from the county while Democrat Tim Holden received 13,945 (39.1%); Holden won.

• Harrisburg Area Community College (Lebanon Campus)
• Lebanon Valley College
• Evangelical Seminary

• Annville-Cleona School District
• Cornwall-Lebanon School District
• Eastern Lebanon County School District
• Lebanon School District
• Northern Lebanon School District
• Palmyra Area School District

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Lebanon County:

• Lebanon (county seat)

• Cleona
• Cornwall
• Jonestown
• Mount Gretna
• Myerstown
• Palmyra
• Richland

Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law.

• Cold Spring
• Rausch Gap

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Lebanon County.

† county seat

Rank	City/town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2010 Census)
1	† Lebanon	City	25,477
2	Palmyra	Borough	7,320
3	Annville (township)	CDP	4,767
4	Cornwall	Borough	4,112
5	Campbelltown	CDP	3,616
6	Myerstown	Borough	3,062
7	Pleasant Hill	CDP	2,643
8	Sand Hill	CDP	2,496
9	Newmanstown	CDP	2,478
10	Lebanon South	CDP	2,270
11	Cleona	Borough	2,080
12	Jonestown	Borough	1,905
13	Avon	CDP	1,667
14	Richland	Borough	1,519
15	Fredericksburg	CDP	1,357
16	Hebron	CDP	1,305
17	Schaefferstown	CDP	941
18	Quentin	CDP	594
19	Timber Hills	CDP	360
20	Mount Gretna Heights	CDP	323
21	Mount Gretna	Borough	196
22	Fort Indiantown Gap	CDP	143

• Memorial Lake State Park
• Swatara State Park
• Union Canal Tunnel Park
• Lions Lake Park
• Coleman's Memorial Park
• Stoever's Dam Park
• South Hill's Park
• Mount Gretna Lake
• Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area
• Lebanon Valley Rails to Trails
• Bordner Cabin

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania

• Geographic data related to Lebanon County, Pennsylvania at OpenStreetMap
• County of Lebanon (official website)
• Lebanon County Pages
• Lebanon County Historical Society
• Lebanon County Tourism Promotion Agency
• Lebanon Valley Exposition Center and Fairgrounds

40°22′N 76°28′W / 40.37°N 76.46°W / 40.37; -76.46