Moving to Wrightsville, PA: Living in Wrightsville Guide

Wrightsville is a small river town on the York County side of the Susquehanna River, directly across from Columbia in Lancaster County. Two bridges link the towns: the 1930 Veterans Memorial Bridge, a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, and the four-lane Wright’s Ferry Bridge that carries US-30. The town has a big place in Civil War history. On June 28, 1863, militia burned the covered bridge here to stop Confederate troops from crossing the river, and the Confederates then helped put out the fire that spread into town.

Today Wrightsville suits people who want river views, hiking trails and a tight-knit borough of about 2,000 people, but still need a short commute. York and Lancaster are each about 12 miles away. Homes here are some of the more affordable in eastern York County.

Planning a move to Wrightsville? Call our York PA & Maryland team at 717-844-5125 or get your price online.

Where Is Wrightsville?

Wrightsville sits on the west bank of the Susquehanna River in eastern York County, with Hellam Township around it. It is part of the York–Hanover metro area, and the river is the county line with Lancaster County. US-30 bypasses the borough and crosses the river on the Wright’s Ferry Bridge, while the older Lincoln Highway (PA Route 462) crosses the river on the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

The river crossings here have a long history. Today’s US-30 bridge, the Wright’s Ferry Bridge, opened on November 21, 1972. It has 46 equal sections on 45 piers, carries a divided four-lane highway, and has never charged a toll. Its name honors the first ferry across the Susquehanna. The older Veterans Memorial Bridge still carries the Lincoln Highway, the nation’s first transcontinental highway, straight into downtown Wrightsville. In 2007 the town even hosted the rekindling of the “War of the Roses” rivalry between the York Revolution and Lancaster Barnstormers baseball teams because of its spot on the county line.

Approximate driving distances (OpenStreetMap routing):

Downtown York: about 12 miles, roughly 25 minutes
Lancaster: about 12.5 miles, roughly 25 minutes
Harrisburg International Airport (MDT): about 22.5 miles, roughly 40 minutes
Harrisburg: about 35 miles, just under an hour
Baltimore: about 64 miles
BWI Marshall Airport: about 75 miles
Philadelphia: about 90 miles, roughly 2 hours

Being right at the US-30 river crossing is one of Wrightsville’s biggest selling points. You can work in York or Lancaster, and both cities’ shopping and restaurants are about 25 minutes away.

Wrightsville Population & Demographics

Wrightsville had 2,257 residents at the 2020 Census. The Census Bureau’s 2020–2024 American Community Survey (ACS) estimate is lower, about 1,869, but ACS numbers for a town this small come from a sample and have wide margins of error, so treat them as a rough guide. The median age is 42.3, and the borough’s poverty rate is well below the state rate.

Measure (ACS 2020–2024)	Wrightsville	York County	Pennsylvania	United States
Population	1,869	462,924	13,018,639	334,922,500
Median age	42.3	41.1	40.9	38.9
Median household income	$67,198	$84,829	$77,971	$80,734
Bachelor’s degree or higher (age 25+)	19.6%	27.6%	35.2%	35.7%
Owner-occupied homes	67.9%	76.3%	69.3%	65.2%
Poverty rate	5.0%	8.4%	11.7%	12.5%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates via Census Reporter; 2020 Census count via Wikipedia.

The borough covers only about 0.6 square miles, so most of daily life happens within walking distance: the river, the schools, the fire hall and the shops along Hellam Street.

Is Wrightsville Safe?

We did not find a current, trustworthy crime dataset for Wrightsville to quote. What we can tell you is how coverage works. Wrightsville had its own police force until July 1, 2018, and it is now covered by the Hellam Township Police Department. Fire and rescue come from the all-volunteer Wrightsville Fire Department (Station 41) on South Second Street, which also serves Hellam Township. The fire company traces its organized history to 1887, has more than 30 active volunteer firefighters, and answered 771 calls in 2019. Ambulance service is contracted with Susquehanna Valley EMS. For questions about a specific street, call Hellam Township police directly.

Cost of Living in Wrightsville

Home Prices

Wrightsville is one of the more affordable places to buy in eastern York County. The ACS puts the median value of owner-occupied homes in the borough at $182,500 (2020–2024), compared with $248,600 for York County and $254,500 for Pennsylvania.

Zillow’s Home Value Index, which estimates the value of a typical home today, was about $283,522 for Wrightsville in August 2026, up 3.3% from a year earlier. York County was about $311,142 and Pennsylvania about $290,401. The 17368 ZIP code, which includes homes in the surrounding township, was about $284,363.

Rent

The ACS median gross rent in Wrightsville was $1,052 for 2020–2024, below the York County median of $1,193 and the U.S. median of $1,413. Zillow did not publish a rent index for the 17368 ZIP code, and the rental market is small, mostly apartments and half-doubles in the borough. If you’re renting, start looking early.

Best Neighborhoods in Wrightsville

The Riverfront and Front Street

Front Street runs along the Susquehanna, and the Wrightsville Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Homes here are older, some with views across to Columbia and the bridges. It suits people who want to be close to the river, the John Wright Restaurant and the trailheads. Older homes may need updates, and parking is mostly on the street.

Hellam Street and the Borough Core

Hellam Street is the main business street, with pizza shops, a tavern, a sub shop and other local businesses. The side streets have rowhomes, twins and small single-family houses, and Wrightsville Elementary is on Chestnut Street. It suits first-time buyers and young families who want to walk to school and to the corner store.

Hellam Township and Long Level

Outside the borough, Hellam Township wraps around Wrightsville with more room and a more rural feel. Long Level Road, along the river, is home to the Zimmerman Center for Heritage and access to Native Lands County Park. Cool Creek Road leads to the middle school and to Samuel S. Lewis State Park. It suits buyers who want a bigger lot, river or farmland views and a quieter setting.

Weather & Climate

Wrightsville doesn’t have its own NOAA normals station, so we use York 3 SSW, about 12 miles west. From 1991 to 2020, January averaged a high of 41.2°F and a low of 21.3°F. July averaged a high of 87.7°F and a low of 63.1°F.

That station averages 46.5 inches of precipitation and about 24.6 inches of snow a year. January (8.5 inches) and February (8.2 inches) bring most of the snow. September is the wettest month, at 5.10 inches.

Month	Avg. high	Avg. low	Precipitation
January	41.2°F	21.3°F	3.27 in.
April	67.2°F	40.0°F	3.62 in.
July	87.7°F	63.1°F	4.52 in.
October	68.2°F	43.0°F	3.94 in.

Source: NOAA 1991–2020 monthly normals, York 3 SSW station.

River-level homes should have a plan for high water. For moving, April through early June and mid-September through October usually bring the most comfortable weather.

Things to Do in Wrightsville

Samuel S. Lewis State Park

This 85-acre park sits on Mt. Pisgah, an 885-foot ridge about 1.5 miles south of the US-30 Wrightsville exit via Cool Creek Road. It has mowed fields for kite flying, picnic areas, hiking and sightseeing, plus mature woods on the west side. According to a plaque at the park, Wrightsville was once among George Washington’s choices for the site of the national capital.

Zimmerman Center for Heritage

The Zimmerman Center, at 1706 Long Level Road, is a mid-18th-century riverfront home run by the Susquehanna National Heritage Area. It has exhibits on the Susquehannock people and river art, seasonal river boat tours, and trail access into Native Lands County Park. It’s open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the grounds are open dawn to dusk.

The Mason–Dixon Trail

The 193-mile Mason–Dixon Trail runs right through Wrightsville. It begins at a junction with the Appalachian Trail on South Mountain near Boiling Springs, heads east across York County, follows roads under US-30 and through town, and continues into Maryland and Delaware before ending at Chadds Ford. The 30-mile section that follows the lower Susquehanna River Gorge south from Wrightsville was named a National Recreation Trail in 2010.

The Columbia–Wrightsville Bridge

The Veterans Memorial Bridge opened on September 30, 1930, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It carries the historic Lincoln Highway (PA Route 462) and BicyclePA Route S across the river into Columbia, so it’s the easy way over for a bike ride or dinner on the Lancaster County side.

Riverfront History

Wrightsville was the northern end of the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal, which ran to Havre de Grace, Maryland. The world’s longest covered bridge, 5,600 feet, once crossed the river here after it was built in 1814. The Wrightsville Historic District is on the National Register, and groups like Historic Wrightsville, Inc. keep that story alive.

Where to Eat in Wrightsville

John Wright Restaurant

The John Wright Restaurant, at 234 North Front Street, is in a restored warehouse right on the Susquehanna, with outdoor seating and river views. The menu is built on locally produced food, and in summer some of it is grown on the property.

Burning Bridge Tavern

Named for the 1863 bridge burning, Burning Bridge Tavern at 108 Hellam Street is a family-friendly neighborhood tavern known for comfort food and live music. The building was destroyed by fire in 2008 and reopened as the tavern in March 2012 after nearly four years of rebuilding. It also has event space upstairs.

The Wild Batch Bistro

For breakfast or lunch, The Wild Batch Bistro at 120 North 4th Street makes crepes, breakfast sandwiches, bagels and baked goods to order, along with custom cakes. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday from morning into early afternoon, and it’s a good first stop after the truck is unloaded.

Jobs & Economy

Most Wrightsville residents commute. York and Lancaster are each about 25 minutes away, and Harrisburg is under an hour. In Pennsylvania’s Top 50 Employers list for York County (4th quarter 2023), the biggest names include York Hospital, Amazon, the federal government, WellSpan Health, Walmart, York County government, Giant Food Stores, BAE Systems, Harley-Davidson, Kinsley Construction and Utz Quality Foods.

Being on the county line also puts Lancaster County’s job market within easy reach across the bridge.

Schools in Wrightsville

Wrightsville is served by the Eastern York School District. NCES data for 2024–2025 show five schools with 2,200 students and a student-teacher ratio of about 12 to 1. Three of the district’s schools have Wrightsville addresses.

Eastern York High School (Wrightsville): about 640 students, grades 9–12
Eastern York Middle School (746 Cool Creek Road, Wrightsville): about 527 students, grades 6–8
Wrightsville Elementary (320 Chestnut Street): about 353 students, grades K–5
Canadochly Elementary (East Prospect) and Kreutz Creek Elementary (Hellam): grades K–5

For college, York College of Pennsylvania is about 25 minutes away in York. Confirm which elementary school serves a particular address with the district.

Wrightsville Quick Facts

County	York County, Pennsylvania
Municipality type	Borough
ZIP code	17368
Area code	717
Land area	About 0.6 square miles
Population	2,257 (2020 Census)
School district	Eastern York School District
Police	Hellam Township Police Department (since 2018)
Nearest commercial airport	Harrisburg International (MDT), about 22.5 miles
River crossings	Veterans Memorial Bridge (PA 462) and Wright’s Ferry Bridge (US-30)

Moving to Wrightsville: Tips From Our Crew

Know which bridge you’re on. US-30 on the Wright’s Ferry Bridge is the fast route, while the Veterans Memorial Bridge brings you right into town on the Lincoln Highway. If you’re moving from Lancaster County, we’ll pick the crossing that gets the truck closest to your door.
Plan for narrow streets and alleys. Many borough homes have on-street parking and rear alleys. Tell us about back entrances when you book, and ask neighbors to leave curb space open on moving day.
Check the flood zone before you buy near the river. Riverfront homes have great views, but ask about flood history and insurance, and keep valuables and boxes off basement floors after you move in.
Measure stairs in older homes. Rowhomes and twins often have steep, narrow staircases. Measure large furniture ahead of time, and let us know if anything may need to be disassembled.
Keep a winter backup date. Snow and ice can slow things down in January and February, the two snowiest months. A flexible date saves stress.
Clear out before you pack. Many Wrightsville homes have basements and attics full of decades of storage. Our junk removal service can haul away what you don’t want to move.

Frequently Asked Questions About Moving to Wrightsville

Is Wrightsville, PA a good place to live?

For people who like small towns and the outdoors, it’s a strong choice. Wrightsville has river views, a state park, a long-distance hiking trail, a small school district and home values below the York County median. The trade-off is limited shopping in the borough itself, but York and Lancaster are each about 25 minutes away.

How far is Wrightsville from York and Lancaster?

Downtown York is about 12 miles west and Lancaster is about 12.5 miles east, roughly 25 minutes to either by car. Harrisburg International Airport is about 22.5 miles away. That central spot is why many commuters choose Wrightsville.

How much do movers cost in Wrightsville?

Your price depends on the size of the move, distance, stairs, parking and any packing you need. A small apartment move across the river costs much less than a full house going out of state. For an accurate number, request a free quote. An owner calls you back within 15 minutes between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

What school district serves Wrightsville?

Wrightsville is in the Eastern York School District, which has five schools and about 2,200 students. The high school, the middle school and Wrightsville Elementary all have Wrightsville addresses. Check with the district to confirm the elementary school for your street.

Who provides police service in Wrightsville?

Since July 1, 2018, Wrightsville has been covered by the Hellam Township Police Department. The borough’s volunteer fire company, Station 41, handles fire and rescue for Wrightsville and Hellam Township and provides quick-response medical care until an ambulance arrives.

Move to Wrightsville With A & M Friendly Movers

A & M Friendly Movers has been family-owned since 2015, and our York PA & Maryland team serves Wrightsville and the rest of York County. Our crews are background-checked, drug-tested W-2 employees, never subcontractors. With the Owner’s Promise, you talk to an owner, not a call center, and if anything is damaged, an owner calls you the same day, with claims resolved in 60 to 90 days. We handle local moves, packing and unpacking, storage and office moves, and there’s never a rescheduling fee. Visit our Wrightsville movers page or the York movers hub, or call 717-844-5125.

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